TPUG Newsletter Issue 11

WORLD OF COMMODORE II: EXCLUSIVE REPORT by Ken Cox

MAKE NO MISIAKE. . .

CALKIT for your Commodore 64 is a powerful, real-world problem solver. Faster, easier and
more accurate than pencil, paper and calculator - and a lot less frustrating.

JHBO^^^

CalKit helps you solve household and small business
problems that involve rows and columns of numbers.

• balance your chequebook in seconds

> plan your home or business budget with ease

•simplify your income tax, and your investment
portfolio

calculate loan or mortgage payments, and then
find out what happens to them in seconds, when
interest rates change

That's the real advantage - with CalKit, you can
change any number in your equation, and see how it
affects the other numbers. AU calculations arc per-
formed instantly! CalKit gives you the answers, in the

time it takes to ask "What if. . .?" You can make
projections and plan ahead with confidence!

The CalKit problem-solving package includes built-
in templates for the most important home and busi-
ness needs. Over 20 ready-tu-use, real-life applica-
tions on one disk. The rows, columns and calcula-
tions arc already defined. No need for time-
consuming initial set-ups - all you do is enter yoar
data. Other Caf Kit features, like on-screen menu and
simple commands, make it even easier.

An easy and comprehensive manual with tutorials on
each application are included. You'll be using CalKit
like a pro, right out of the box. And once you've
mastered (he built-in templates, you'll be ready for
your own unique spreadsheet programs.

Powerful solutions + ease of use + low low cost = CalKit. It all adds up to exceptional value,
for a computer program that can help you every day.

186 Queen St. west
Toronto, Ontario,
MSV 1Z1 Canada

(416)S9B-140S

'The Energized Software Company!"

WrtlTE FOR A FULL COLOR BROCHURE

17B7S Sky Park North,
Suite P, Irvine, California
USA 92714

©1984 Batteries Included. All rights reserved. Commadore is a regislered trademark of CommodDre Business Machines, Inc.

TPUG

magazine

Publisher: Chris Bennoft
Edilor: Nick Sullivan
Assistam Editor Marya Miller
DireaoT of Ativsnising Sales: Louise Hedgers
Production Assistant: Astnd Kumas
Copy Assistant. Terry Hachey
Computer Jockey Matoolm O'Brien
Cover Photo courtesy of Mtcro Computer Nev/s
Magazine

Typesetting: Noesis. Toronto, Onlano
Printing: Deita Web Graptiics. Scarborough,
Ontario

TPUG Magazine IS published 10 limes a year by Toron-
to Pel Users' Group (TPUG) inc . the world's largest
Conrifnodore users' group TPUG is a non-profit cor-
poration dedicated to aiding and abetting owners antl
users of Commoaore computefs. All rights to material
published in TPUG Magazine are reserved by TPUG
Inc., and no rnaterial may be reprinted without v/ntten
permission except wfiere specificalty stated.
Correspondence: Send change of address and
subscription enquiftes to. TPUG Inc., Address Changes.
191 2A A-yfenue Road. Suite 1. Toronto ON. Canada
W5M 4A1 TPUG Magairine welcomes freelance con-
tributions on all aspects of Commodore computing
Contnbulions should be sent on disk, though accom-
panying hardcopy is welcome. Be sure to include return
postage ifyou wish materials returned. Please indicate
on the disk !abel which Commodore disk format and
word processing program you have used Remunera-
tion for articles published is $30 00 per magazine i^age
if the author retains the copyright, and S40.00 p-er
magazine page il the copyright Is assigned to TPUG
Magazine All contributions are subject to editing ior
length and readability. Address editorial contributions
to The Editor. TPUG Magazine, 1912A Avenue Road,
Suite 5, Toronto ON, Cwnada M5M 4A1 . Letters to the
edilor may be; sent to the same address. Like other
material, letters may be edited for length and readability.

Circulation:
Subscription 15.700
Newsstand 8 200
ISBN #0825-0367

rPUG Magazine is distributed by: Compulit Oislr tbulors.
PO Box 352. Port Coquitlam BC, Canada V3C 4K6.
(604).464-1221, and Micron Distributing, 409 Queen
Slreet W., Toronto ON, Canada M5V 2A5.
(416)-593-9862, Toil Free Order Desk 1-800-26S-1238.
VIC 20, Commodore 64 and SuperPET are Irade.Tiartis
of Commodore Electronics Ltd. PET is a registered
trademark of Commodore Business fvlachines, Inc.
CBM is a registered trademark of Commodore Elec-
tronics Ltd.

Subscriptions 10 TPUG Magazine may be obtained by
joining the Toronto Pe! Users. Group (TPUGi. inc
Another benefit of TPUG membership is the right to
order inexpensive disks and tapes from the club's ex-
tensive sofiware library. Yearly membership fees are:
Regular member (attends meetings) S35.00 Cdn.
Student member (full-time, arierids meetings)

525,00 Cdn.
Associate (Canada)
Associate (U.S)

S25 00 Cdn.
$25.00 U.S
S30.00 Cdn.
$35 00 U.S.
$45,00 U.S,

Associate (Overseas — sea mail)

Associate (Overseas — air mal)

For further membership informatton please contact;

TPUG Inc.. Membership information,

1912A Avenue Road. Suite l. Toronto ON. Canada

M5M 4A1. 416-782-8900.

TPUG Telephone Numbers:

Business Office {416)-782-8900

(416)-782-9252

Magazine Office (4i6)-782-l86l

Advertising (416)782 1861

DIRECTORY

85

TPUG Magazine

FED

Feature: World of Commodore II Show

8 Commodore II Show Dazzles by Ken Cox

9 Keyboofd Strikes Sour Note by Ken Cox

1 1 New CDM Doss Wants More in the Family by Ken Cox

Articles

12 Program Piracy and Personoi Ethics by Jim Butterfield

14 SuperPET Deeper Down by Brad Bjorndahl

15 Game Piracy; Mostertronic's Answer by lan A. Wright

16 Hot News from CES by TPUG Magazine Staff

18 Sunset Days for the VIC 20? by Malcolm O'Brien

20 Forecosting with the 8032: Port 6 by John Shepherd

22 5uper-OS/9; TPUG Implements Ultimate

SuperPET Operating System

34 Foolproof Your 4040 Disk Drive by John Vanderkooy

36 An 80-column Doord for Ye Olde Pette by Tom G. Bartoffy

37 General Purpose SAVE/LOAD by Kevin Boardman

37 A Life Saver for 1541 Users by Mike Norman

45 Switching 1541 Device Numbers by Elizabeth Deal

52 Butterfield Dock Fact Fixes by Jim Butterfield

Reviews

36 P!us/4 and C-16: Disappointingly Mediocre by Terry Traub

38 New 64 Book Clear But No: Deep by Elizabeth Deal

39 The Home Computer Wars by Chris Bennett

39 6502 Assembly Language Subroutines by Dave Neale

40 Studio 64 by Tim Grantham

40 KAAAAM Pascal by Kevin Boardman

42 Simons' BASIC by Kevin Boardman

44 Vegos Jockpot and Duckshoot by Mike Martin

45 Chiller, BAAX Racers and Spocewolk by David Wright

Departments

3 Editorial: Octobus Disaster Update

4 This and Thot by Doris Bradley

7 The Answer Desk with George Shirinian

25 TPUG Annual Conference — Information Package

38 Valentine's Day Programming Contest

47 Classified Ads

48 Additions to the TPUG Softwore Library
52 TPUG Associate Club Chapters

54 Calendar of TPUG Events

56 TPUG Contacts

56 Index of Advertisers

STEP ONE The Complete Computer Course

Whiz Kids Educational Computer Centres, Inc. has delivered what every new
computer user has been waiting for. A complete computer course for the beginner
or non-user of any age. The STEP ONE kit consists of a manual and a program
disk, conveniently packaged in a durable case.
Designed for use with the Commodore 64™, STEP ONE provides:

• a complete computer course designed for all ages (in fact, the same course
taught to hundreds of satisfied adults and children)

• an introduction the computer language known as BASIC (the manual and the
disk are skilfully combined in an on-screen presentation of fundamental
programming)

• a great teaching aid in school (benefits the teacher and student alike by
encouraging computer literacy)

• a program disk with 10 programs plus a word processor (the word processor is
amazing in its simplicity — will allow teachers and students to prepare
assignments, lectures and reports)

• a bonus entertainment program designed to reinforce computer skills and allow
participation by more than one person (exciting games such as "maze" ,
"hangman", "mastermind" and more)

STEP ONE $39.95 Satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded

Butterfield's

Machine

Language

$17.95

Anatomy of
a 1541

$27.95

VIC
Revealed

$18.95

Programmers

Reference

Guide

Vic 20 $19.95
C64 $24.95

Easyscript
C64

-■^v-
4'™.

$44.95

Paperclip

(the word processor)

$99.95

with SpellPack
S14g.95

Consultant

(the database)

Boss
Joystick

Kraft
Joystick

Print Shop

Home

Organizer

Series

C64

Ribbons

$124.95

$23.95

$17.95

$59.95

Memorex
Disks^

(Special)

SSDD
$27.95/10

BASF

BASF

SSDD

in hard box

$33.90

Cassettes

CIO Tapes

$1.00 ea.
C20 Tapes
$1 .25 ea.
Cassette
boxes .25 ea.

NET WORTH
C64

(home money
management)

1525

1526

4023

Spirit 80

801

802

8023

4022

tIAXSO

RX80

$12.95
S>14.95
$14.95
$14.95
$12.95
$14.95
$14.95
$1295
$12.95
$12.95

Nomnh

•

J

$99.95

• Recipes

• Audio/Video
Catalogue

• Stamps

• Mall List
• Electronic

Address Book
• Home Inventory

$39.95 ea.

CADPIC

(arts & graphics
package)

CfOPfC

$69.95

aeCROniC^ 2001 LTD.

Name _
Address

Lj Clieck or maney order enclosed D Visa D MaslerCharge 3 American Expsess
AccL# Exp. Dale Signature

ELeG^OniC) 2001 LTD.

5529 Yonge Street, Willowdale, Ontario M2N 5S3

Tel: (416) 223-8400

Note: All prices in Canadian Funds. Phone and mall orders welcome.

Ontario residents add 7% sales tax.

Add 5<K for shipping (minimum charge $2.00)

10% off on advertised products with this coupon

Editorial: Octobus Disaster Update

WTien a product fails to live up to its advertising, people justly
become disappointed and angry. One such product is the
Octobus, marketed by Silicom Software Inc., wfhich was
advertised in TPUG Magazine last September.

In late summer, last year, we accepted an advertisement for
this product and an advanced version known as Octobus Plus.
At the same time, we received copies of each product and some
rough manuals. We had no reason to believe that Octobus was
anythinjj other than what its advertising claimed it to be: an
IE'eE-488 interface with a Centronics parallel port, BASIC 4.0,
and communications software.

It was not until after we had finished putting together our
December issue that I heard from our re^ewer, Ian Wright, that
the Octobus products given us for review had left two computers
inoperable: his own, and an additional one that he had borrowed.
Ian wrote:

"... The next time I turned on the Octobus Plus my C-64
didn't work. I had a screen full of random characters that
flickered and changed colour.

"I have had three C-64s, and this would not be the first time
that something had gone wrong with one of my machines. I
assumed that my latest machine had developed some problem
(it had never given trouble before) and I asked a friend to loan
me his machine to finish the review of the Octobus Plus. His
machine blew up and smoke started to come out of it!"

The computers were sent to Commodore for repair. One need-
ed a new board; the other, a new power supply. We called Silicom
and made them aware of the problem. They were pleasant, but
maintained that the problem must have been cau.sed by inserting
their product incorrectly. At our insistence, they did pay for the
repairs to both computers. They also took both review samples
back to be tested. They called us once after that, asking to see
lan's review. At that time, however, no review had been writ-

ten, as Ian was prepared to give the product a second chance.
That was the last contact we had with Silicom.

As that tale of woe came to a close, another began. Concerned
TPUG members started calling and writing because they could
not make contact with Silicom at the phone number printed in
their ad. We tried to reach them at other phone numbers they
had provided. Their answering machine had disappeared.
Cheques had been cashed in October; as of the end of December,
no product had been delivered.

TPUG regrets this incident, though it is hard to see how we
could have avoided it. We check out our advertisers as best we
can. We try to make certain that they have products to ship.
When we discover that our members or our re\iewers are disap-
pointed in a product, we discontinue advertising it.

As of December 28th, 1984, we have been unable to make any
contact with Silicom Software Inc. We are disappointed that
they saw fit to pull their scam using our magazine. We deeply
regret any problems this has caused our members and suggest
that anyone holding cancelled cheques for products not delivered
do the following:

• Drop us a line at the address below, including a copy of your
cancelled cheque and any correspondence that may have
occurred.

• If necessary, take your complaint against Silicom Software
Inc. to small claims court.

TPUG will continue in its attempts to get satisfaction for its
members. We will keep you posted.

Louise Redgers

Director of Advertising Sales

TPUG Magazine

1912A Avenue Road, Suite 1

Toronto, Ontario MoM 4Al '

f^^^ar^-'

V

— •*£_

'V**'l

Commodore 64™ Interfax::

Silicom Software is pleased to present, in conjunction with A.C. Concepts Inc. the following
professional quality computer products.

fOCTOBUS^

|A PET IEEE GPIB interface for the Commodore 64*
.;vith ttiese features:

V;gs directly into ttie cartridge expansion port,
^'^s transparently witti all software.
'^Trd PET IEEE edge connector.
\TSiC 4,0.

irf^. -^ii- n t i^ 'jaH .-' '-tipg- — a nowfir'iil

OCTOBUS PLUS™

Has all of the capabilities of the OCTOBUS plus these
added features:

— a Centronics parallel printer port.

— includes a parallel printer cable. -<-
-ane-bit DIP switch which allows the user to spei?;''-

j^ndently which devices are Commodore* sf/"
* I CE'-^. -Centronics paralleL

This advertisement appeared in TPUG Magazine last September. At the time of going to press, we have been unable, despite persist-
ent efforts, to determine that the Octobus works as claimed, or that Silicom Software intends ever to deliver the product to their
customers.

February 1985 3

This and That

by Doris Bradley

Trinidad in February!

Yes, several TPUG members are going
to attend the TACO meeting in Trinidad
on Saturday, February 23, 1985. As
Canada and the northern United States
are caught in the throes of winter, we are
looking forward to experiencing some
w^arm, maybe even hot, weather!

Other Computer Clubs

This month's information from other
computer clubs includes some interesting
groups from the far north and other far
away places. The groups listed may or
may not have an associate membership
in TPUG.

First City Users Group (FCUG) meets
on Sundays at 2 p.m. in Room 217 of the
local high school in Ketchikan (on an
island in south-east Alaska).

Polar Peckers and Hackers Group is a

new user group in Pond Inlet, North
West Territories.

Medicine Hat Commodore Users Group

meets on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of
the month. They would like to trade
newsletters or just corre.spond with
members of other groups. Please write:
MHCUG, Box 764. Medicine Hat, AB,
Canada TIA 7G7.

Technion Commodore User's Group
(TCUG) meets the second Thursday of
every month at 17:30. Contact Dr. Alex-
ander Burcat, Dept. of Aeronautical
Engineering, Technion — Israel Institute
of Technologic Haifa 32000, Israel.
Telephone (04) 293198

Commodore Computer Users Group of

Queensland, Australia, meets in the Club
Rooms, Milton State School, Bayswater
Rd., Milton, Brisbane on the first Tues-
day of each month at 7:30 p.m. Contact
Dr. Greg Perry.

Crossroads Commodore Users Group is

a newly-formed group in South Central
Texas. They meet twice a month. Contact
Jerry Guy 512-575-0342.

The C-64 Users Group of Canada is for-
ming in the Montreal area. Contact Mr.
Robert Adler, Snowdon. P.O. Box 792,
Montreal. PQ H3X 3X9. Phone
514-739-3046.

Save with Replace Bug

Have you ever been bitten by the elusive
Save With Replace Bug? If you have, hold

that disk! Don't do anything more on it
— just send it, with thorough documen-
tation of the incident, to: Louis F. Sander,
153 Mayer Dr., Pittsburg, PA, 15237. He
hopes to solve this mysterious (and so far
unexplained) problem by carefully
diagnosing several bugged disks. Good
luck, Lou!

Four-Minute Backup

Jim Butterfield and I would like to thank
all those who have sent letters and che-
ques, or handed in money for Thomas
Tempelmann. In the next few days, I am
going to change more than three hundred
dollars into German marks for transmis-
sion to Germany. (I'll be glad to change
more later.)

Many of you have written eloquently
concerning FBackup. I have chosen to
quote from David G. Veatch's letter:
"The article in the December 84 TPUG
Magazine asked for only five dollars, but
I have a copy of the whole German disk,
full of utilities, so that I feel a larger con-
tribution is in order. . .

"I have given away dozens of copies of
Thomas Templemann's fast copy pro-
gram belie\nng it was public domain, and
have even uploaded it to the bulletin
board our C-64 users' group runs. It is an
excellent program. Considering that all
we had before was 1541 Backup, which
took up to half an hour to make a copy
of a whole disk, Mr. Templemann's pro-
gram brought us into the 21st century,
so to speak."

David's letter, as well as another recent
letter from Warren Woodcox, have
brought up another matter. The sugges-
tion is that some software houses in
North America are taking programs such
as Fast Backup, making a few changes,
and selling them. I am sending these two
letters to the software houses concerned
for comment, and will provide more news
later.

Computers in Education
Conference

The NorthWest Council for Computer
Education is presenting the 14th annual
conference on February 7, 8 and 9 at the
Eugene Hilton Conference Center. The
keynote speaker is Pamela McCorduck,
co-author of The Fifth Geiwration: Ar-
tificiai Intelligence and Japan's Com-
puter Challenge to the World. For
registration information, contact: Linda
Ague. 2583 N. 15th, Springfield, Oregon
97477.

Tape Alignment Kit

In the November issue of TPUG
Magazine I indicated that the tape align-
ment kit was available immediately. Un-
fortunately, my information was incor-
rect. The most important part of this kit
is a screwdriver, and as this magazine
goes to press, the screwdrivers have still
not arrived from Europe. My apologies
for the delay. If you have ordered the kit,
all I can do is promise you that it will be
in the mail as soon as is humanly possible.

Now that I know more about just Vt'hat
is involved, I can suggest an alternative
for you. If you get the double-sided sheet
of instructions on aligning the heads of
your Datasette from us (one is included
with each tape order shipped out), all you
will really need is a Phillips *0
screwdriver. Unfortunately, in Toronto,
this particular screwdriver is being sold
as part of a set only. Unless you have ac-
cess to a set of Phillips .screwdrivers,
alignment of a Datasette could be a bit
pricy.

Whether you can get the screwdriver
yourself or whether you get the kit from
us, good luck with the process! Nothing
would please me more than to ha\'e all the
members who purchase our tapes able to
load them without any problems.

When You Order

In order to help speed up the processing
of your order, please do not ask any aux-
iliary questions, or make library submis-
sions at the same time. Thank you.

HELP Column

The 'HELP' column, which I initiated in
June 1983, has been transformed into
'The Answer Desk', beginning with this
issue. The column will be conducted by
(jeorge Shirinian , one of our local TPUG
members. At the same time the 'PET-
Pals' has been transferred to a special
section of the Classified Ada, Of course,
those members participating will not be
charged for the space.

Forth Interest Group

The 1985 schedule of the Southern Ont-
ario Chapter of the Forth Interest Group
is as follows: March 2nd, June 1st,
September 7th and December 7th. The
meetings go from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in
Room 312 of the General Sciences
Building of McMaster University. For
more information call Dr. N. Solntseff,
Unit for Computer Science, McMaster

4 TPUG Magazine

University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1.
Phone (416) 52,5-9140, Ext. 3443/4/5.

The TPUG Forth group is no longer
holding formal monthly meetings, but
may meet informally at the TPUG Office
if there is sufficient interest.

The Commodore Show,

The West Coast Commodore Association
will hold a two-day exhibit and speaker
program at the Cathedral Hill Hotel, San
Francisco, on Saturday and Sunday,
February 9th and 10th, 1985. This will be

a good opportunity to hear a number of
prominent speakers who write about or
work with Commodore products — Jim
Butterfield, for example. The cost is
$12.50 for the two days or $7.50 for one
day. Louise Redgers {TPUG Magazine's
Ad Director) and I plan to attend, and we
want to meet our west coast members.
Hope to see you there!

TPUG Conference 1985

This month's issue of TPUG Magazine in-
cludes the registration package for the

Fourth Annual TPUG Conference, to be
held in downtown Toronto on the
Memorial Day weekend, May 25 and 26,
1985. You will find sessions for every
level of expertise, and for most Com-
modore computers (including the
SuperPET, Commodore-16, Plus 4 and
B-128). Before making your choice of ses-
sions, please be sure to read our defini-
tions of Beginner, Intermediate and Ad-
vanced. The same definitions were read
to our speakers so that we would be able
to label the sessions as accurately as
possible.

Don't wait for spring — do it now! Get
your application in as soon as possible and
take advantage of the Early Bird
registration fee of $20.00. I hope to see
you there, whether you live in Scar-
borough, Ontario; San Francisco, Califor-
nia; or SoHentuna, Sweden.

Our Members

Among recent members to join is a
seventy-two year old gentleman from
Silver Spring, Maryland. He has a
Masters degree in physics and math and
a PhD in Educational Research and
Statistics. He has had his C-64, 1541 drive
and Epson RX-80 printer for about one
year. In his words: "I am interested in
keeping up with the times." D

MOR E. ^

Ask Someone Who Knows

If you enjoy Jim Strasma's nnany books, and his
articles in this and other magazines, you'll be glad
he also edits his own highly-acclaimed computer
magazine, now in its sixth year of continuous
publication. Written just for owners of Com-
modore's many computers, each Midnite Software
Gazette contains hundreds of brief, honest
reviews.

Midnite also features timely Commodore'
news, hints and articles, all organized for instant
reference, and never a wasted word. Whether you
are just beginning or a long-time hobbyist, each
issue will help you and your computer to work
together effectively.

A six issue annual subscription is $23. To
subscribe, or request a sample issue, just write:

MIDNITE SOFTWARE GAZETTE

P.O. Box 1747

Champaign, IL 61820

You'll be glad you did!

February 1985 5

Introducing The Gold Disk" Subscription Series

HKHOmUTY

SOFTWARE

VOLUME 1 DECEMBER

FULL DATABASE PACKAGE

Arcade games "Rodeo", "Tunnel of Doom"

Learning BASIC — lesson 1

Programmingtips — speeding up BASIC

"Towers of Hanoi" puzzle

House purchase analyzer program

Computerized crossword

Computer trivia

Sound effects & code

Music box

Review, preview, editorial, article

VOLUME 3 FEBRUARY

TYPING TUTOR PACKAGE

Arcade game "Chomper"
"C u b i c " - strategy game
Learning BASIC - lesson 3
Programming tips — on keys
Bubble sort tutorial
Budgetter program
Report generator
Computerized crossword
Computer trivia, Music box
Sound effects & code
Editorial, letters, article, catalog

VOLUME 2 JANUARY

FULL WORD PROCESSOR PACKAGE

4 screen arcade game "Spook Castle 1"
Children's learningprogram -Numbers Game
Learning BASIC - lesson 2
Programming tips - random numbers
Eight queens problem
Loans and mortgages program
File backup/copy program
Computerized crossword
Computer trivia. Music box
Sound effects & code
Editorial. letters, article, catalog

VOLUME 4 MARCH

GOLD DISK ART PACKAGE

"Gold Disk Trivia" - full trivia game
Action game — "Follow the Leader"
Tutorial - file operations
Programming tips — screen print
Binary search tutorial
Checkwriter program
Computer trivia
Sound effects & code
Music box
Editorial, letters, article, catalog

AT

SUBSCRIPTION

PRICES

Software for
the Commodore 64*

■ Issued Monthly

■ Full Disk of Software

■ All Instructions Contained

on the Disk

IVadcmitk pending

Tlie

GOLD

DISK

Name.
City_

THE GOLD DISK SUBSCRIPTION SOFTWARE

2179 Dunwin Drive. "6, Mississauga, Ontario. Canada L5L 1X2
or

P.O. Box 1540 Buffalo, N.Y. 14205.1540

YES. please send the Gold Disk for
n6monthsC<i S70.00 (Canadian) + S6 shipping
D 12 monthsCa' $127.00 (Canadian) + $12.';hipping

Starting issue □ Dec. DJan. DFeb. DMar.

Single issues te S 16. 95 (Canadian) + SI shipping

Addreis

. State/ Prov.

- Code .

D Check ormoney order enclosed QVisa □ Mastercard D American Express
Acct * — .^ Exp, Date Signature

Odcn KdorNgclh Atncnca add S3.H^ [Ki iMuc. OntsfM resi,±eruaJJ 7\ ul^ m_

The Answer Desk

with George Shirinian

I would like to preface this new column
by pointing out that all of the questions
and many of the answers originate with
TPUG members. My contribution is to
twist the arms of the appropriate people
for the best answers we can come up
with. I hope you find the information
below worth all the sore limbs around the
club! I should also point out that most of
the questions have been edited for
conciseness.

Disks And Databases

I'm thinking of getting a disk drive hut
don't understand about floppies. Can you
explain, for instance, what is meant by the
term 'douile density'?

Another question: I'm a camera nut and
have about a million feet of Super 8 movie
film, as well as about a million slides. I
also have around three thousand books
and twenty-five hundred LP records. How
can I organize information about these
items and their location using my mm-
jniter? I iinagine some kind of filing
system, but what kind?

S.G. Lucas,
Lubbock, Texas

You will receive a great deal of enjoyment
and benefit, in my opinion, if you do ac-
quire a disk drive, as you suggest. It is
almost essential for serious information
handling. Put simply, 'double-density'
means that the oxide coating on the
plastic floppy disk has magnetic proper-
ties that are suitable for holding more
kilobytes of data than a single density
disk. The Commodore 1541 disk drive
stores approximately 170,000 bytes of
data on its disk (which is more than the
old Apple and Radio Shack computers
could accommodate) and it is recommend-
ed that you use double density disks,
although this is not absolutely essential.
The 1541 uses only one side of the disk,
so be sure not to pay extra for double-
sided disks.

To keep track of your records, tapes
and films, you need a type of program
called a 'database manager'. Such a pro-
gram stores chunks of information in
units called records. A record consists of
sepeirate fields containing the specific in-
formation on such things as author, title

and date. By separating the information
into fields, the program can access any
particular kind of data throughout the
database very rapidly: for example, all
the books by a particular author.

It wouldn't be appropriate for me to en-
dorse any particular brand of database
manager. There are three, however, that
I can recommend you look into: Flexfile
2.1, The Consultant and Superbase.
Look for reviews in TPUG Magazine and
other periodicals.

Screen Text Characters

/ am im-iting a program on the C-64 in
which I would like the screen to come up
udth the text character set (upper and
lower case) without tfie user having to
press the SHIFT/Commodore-key com-
bination. What is the best way of doing
this?

There are several ways to obtain the text
character set on the C-64. POKE
53272,23 is one good way to do it from
within a program. (You can use POKE
53272,21 to get the upper case/graphics
character set.) Another way is with the
statement PRINT "<CTRL-N>", which
has the advantage of taking up the least
amount of RAM. But in the interest of
making your program as clear and as por-
table as possible, you might consider us-
ing PRINT CHR$(14) for text, and
PRINT CHR$(142) for upper
case/graphics. This statement will work
on the VIC 20, C-64 and 8032, though not
on 40-column PETs, Incidentally, you
might want to disable the SHIFT/
Commodore key toggle with a PRINT
CHR$(8). CHR$(9) will restore it.

PET Load Errors

/ recently received Disk (QTsfor the Com-
modore aii. One of the programs was sup-
posed to show how to load a program
saved on a C-BA into a PET with BASIC
4.0. When I tried the program, all I got
was a hood error on the PET. Can you give
me an idea how I can do this with a
datasette?

Dan Flinn
Eldoret, Kenya

The problem of the load error is not
related to the problem of loading a C-64
program into a PET. Perhaps your disk
got damaged in transit. The following

technique works, regardless of whether
you use a disk drive or datasette, and is
good for any PET/CBM with BASIC 4.0.

First, clear your PET's memory by typ-
ing NEW, then load in the program saved
from a C-64. Because the C-64 saves pro-
grams with a different memory location
for the start of BASIC than the PET
series, you must help the PET find the
start of the program in its memory.

To do this, enter the BASIC line
number (zero) with the statement REM
after it. You need such a statement after
the line number for it to 'take'. Line is
fairly safe, as most programs begin with
some other number. Then, enter the fol-
lowing command in direct mode (no line
number): POKE 1026,8. This POKE links
the new line 0, which is at the PET's
normal start of BASIC, with the rest of
the program. Now delete line 0, which is
no longer needed, by typing on a blank
line and pressing RETURN,

The C-64 program has now been
relocated to the normal start of the PET's
BASIC. It will list and, if compatible with
the PET in other respects, will also run.

// you have a question for The Answer
Desk, please send it to: The Answer Desk,
c/o TPUG Magazine, 1912A Avenue Rd.
Suite 1, Toronto, Ontario MsM iAl,
CANADA. □

Important message to
all BBS users

The telephone number is:

(416) 782-9534

Operating hours:

24 hours per day

7 days per week

The password is. , ,

TRIKE

February 1985 7

Commodore II Show Dazzles

by Ken Cox

The World of Commodore II show, from November 29 to
December 2, in Toronto, attracted 41,600 show goers (an in-
crease of 3,400 from the pre'vious year). The explosive popularity
of the Commodore 64 has left a mushroom cloud of software
and peripherals, and the fallout continues to dazzle. There was
a clear trend at the World of Commodore II towards keyboards,
graphics utilities and cheaper games. Alas, the VIC 20 was
almost wiped off the face of the earth. It was fondly remembered
in stacks of heavily-discounted cassettes and cartridges.

"Do you have this in machine language?'

As one would expect. Commodore gave its products the red
carpet treatment. There were plenty of 'hands on' opportunities
and helpful 'shipmates' to show you how.

The Commodore 16 (The Learning Machine) and the Plus/4
(The Productivity Machine) did not pack 'em in, but many
gamers gathered around the Pirate Adventure on the C-16,
Jack Attack on the PIus/4, and Satan's Hollow on the C-64
at the back of the main display.

The business machines were on display in the Commodore sec-
tion of the show, but it was hard to get excited without the for-
thcoming Hyperion. Commodore announced the tilt-and-swivel
8296 system, which has 128K RAM, built-in Paperclip, Con-
sultant, CalcResult and more. Across the aisle the focus was
on Commodore's educational software, with a gowned
'schoolmaster' to show parents programs on counting, shapes
and patterns, letter-matching and vocabulary skills.

...the VIC 20 was almost wiped off the
face of the earth. It was fondly
remembered in stacks of heavily-
discounted cassettes and cartridges...

The Commodore SFX MusicMaker keyboard overlay made its
Canadian debut. This entry-level product comes from Britain,
but it is clearly intended to be an international product: the in-
structions come in German, French and Italian, as well at.

English. The sound quality of the SFX starter software was in-
ferior to the Kawasaki system from Sight and Sound Music Soft-
ware Inc. Their plastic keyboards are the same. (For the story
behind these competing keyboards see Keyboard Strikes Sour
Note, on opposite page).
Commodore is also apparently moving into softwear: at one

...a mushroom cloud of software and
peripherals...

booth they were selling clothes-to-compute-by . Tlie snappy white
sweatshirt featured bright Commodore logos down the sleeves,
with the now-familiar World of Commodore crest over the heart.
Also offered were Foreign Legion caps, school binders and key
holders. The proceeds went to charity.

Keeping ahead of computing trends is one of the jobs for Jim
Gracely, the technical editor of Commodore's own Commodore
Microcomputers and Power Play magazines. While flogging
three back issues plus a current issue for $3.00 (again for char-
ity), Jim explained that this was a way to move boxes of
magazines that found their way into warehouses instead of
newsstands.

Asked where computing is headed, Gracely quipped "...
breakdancing and trivia games!" And then, more seriously: "The
ultimate goal, if you are going to have a computer in every house,

...a rather strange tape drive made it to

The World Of Commodore 11 just hours

before the show opened...

is to have something with telecommunications. Home shopping,
home banking. You're not going to keep placing games for ever,
and not everyone's going to want to work with a database for
their record collection. There's got to be something coming up
that everyone wants. It seems right now that telecommunica-
tions is going to be the key to that".

There was much more to the World of Commodore than just
Commodore's offerings, with many interesting products to ex-
plore along the aisles, and knowledgeable people to meet.

The Electronics 2001 booth was a hive ol activity, Here king bee
Tony Prijately assists a swarm of customers.

8 TPUG Magazine

A highlight for budding artists was the lightpen package called
Flexidraw, shown by Inkwell Systems, of San Diego. You create
pictures and designs by drawing on your screen: the fast, smooth

...you could build a picture one hundred
feet long...

moves look like they have been imported from an IBM or Ap-
ple. Scott Maxwell, co-author of Flexidraw, said it wasn't that
way at all.

"Actually, our program came out before the Macintosh, so
before anybody had ever heard of MacPaint, there was Flex-
idraw." The program only works with a high quality lightpen,
which is manufactured by a sister company of Inkwell Systems.

Flexidraw has an interesting form of copy protection — none.
The catch is that the program won't work with other lightpens.
"You can make as many copies as you want. All we do to pro-
tect it is check for a noisy pen. If you have a noisy, bad pen,
it doesn't work."

Maxwell claimed that about fifty per cent of the people who
buy Flexidraw are engineers using it for schematics and draw-
ings. By connecting screen after screen you could build a pic-
ture one hundred feet long.

A companion program is Flexifont, written by Scott Maxwell.
It allows you to create signs and pictures in various character
styles (like Olde English),

If you can't (or won't) fork out a couple of hundred dollars
for the deluxe brand of drawing utility, you could go for the
familiar Tech Sketch lightpen, which was available at a booth
a few doors down. The hazards of crossing the border into
Canada caught up with some of the Tech Sketch disks. Ap-
parently Canadian customs decided to zap a couple of boxes with
some form of x-ray machine and, while looking for contraband,
the border men accidentally left behind a bunch of read errors.
After getting several disks back during the show, salesmen
started checking each disk as it was sold.

To hook you into the banking system, electronic shopping mall
or local BBS, you need a modem. Picking up on the shortage
of autodial/autoanswer equipment, Bot Engineering of Milton,

Keyboard Strikes Sour Note by Ken cox

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it is
not music to the ears of a U.S. company that developed
a keyboard overlay for the C-64.

First, we check the Commodore display, where Rick
Cardinelli of London, England, sits in his morning suit,
merrily playing the Commodore Music Maker.

"It is probably the very best on the market", says
Cardinelli, "and at the moment it is selling very, very well
in England."

When asked who actually developed this Commodore-
backed package, John Van Til of Music Sales, in London,
modestly replies, "It's really a group of people." Yes, but
which group?

We amble across the hall to another exhibit, where the
Incredible Musical Keyboard, (also known as the Kawasaki
synthesizer) draws a crowd. Curiously, the keyboard
resting on the Commodore 64 is identical to the one we
have just seen.

George Staieos, of Sight and Sound Software in Wiscon-
sin, was not amused with the carbon copy, especially when
his piece of plastic cost 75 thousand dollars to develop.

"I walked into the show, and lo and behold, there it was!
The unit is identical. It took us six months to develop the
mould changes. They copied everything — the box, the
size, the interior packaging, even the labels on the key.s."
But not the music book, George. "They had to change
something", he said. "I was shocked."

How could a British company conjure up the American's
keyboard?

It seems that John Van Til worked for Sight and Sound
for two years, as head of its European office. Then he
moved to another music publisher called Music Sales.

In the summer of 1984, Music Sales and the Sight and
Sound people met in Wisconsin to discuss a^ deal for
distribution or licensing of Sight and Sound's Incredible
Musical Keyboard — the item on display. Even though
they didn't reach an agreement. Music Sates turned up
with the same keyboard — except for the logo in the
bottom right comer.

Staieos says his rival "saved time and money. Their ad-
vantage was that they could make the mould from a
perfect specimen." D

(.:OMWOD()Rfc MUSi(, VAKER

II 11! !! HI

Sight and Sound claims its 75 thousand dollar desiffii M.'as
copied

Who really designed thia Brit i fill keyboard package
sold by Commodore?

February 1985 9

Ontario, offered its Pocket Modem for $150.00. "It is functional-
ly the same as a (Commodore) 1650", said distributor Ed
Stewart. "It will accept all of the standard software." The small
modem in the plain package was in short supply. "We are cur-
rently geared to make about sixteen hundred a month. We didn't
realize how big the Commodore market was. For every Atari
that's been sold, there must be a hundred Commodores."

Photos by Robeno Portolese

sleefunhief attempts to steal Butlerfield seminar sign

No matter how many "shoot 'em ups" there are, somebody
will always make another. In the arcade gallery, Canada's pistol-
shooting OljTOpic Gold Medal winner, Linda Thorn, hit level 42,
with 44,000 points on a Stack Light Rifle game. Thom brought
the same skills to the video range as she has done to her sport:
"Good aim, steady hand, and keep your eye on the target." The
champion even surprised herself. "I expected to be beaten,
because some of these guys are real arcade denizens," she ad-
mitted, as fans gathered to seek autographs and admire the gold
medal hanging from her neck. "I guess I do have a lot of skill
on the shooting game."

...or a Russian player was flattened to
the ice...

The World of Commodore saw the first skirmish in what could
become a big price war in videogames. Mastertronic, from Brit-
ain, hit the scene with good quality games for under ten dollars.
According to Martin Alper, of Mastertronic in London, they
opted for volume,

"We decided that if we reduced the price to under ten dollars
we'd get an enormous volume out on the marketplace. Nobody
believed it was possible, but we did," said Alper, He said the
company sold one-and-a-quarter million games in its first six
months in England. Canada is following the pattern, and the
U.S. is next. WTiat wil! this do to the big software houses whose
games sell for $40.00? "I think we're making them panic a lit-
tle," Alper said.

Still with games, Advantage showed its latest in another well-
attended display. As one would expect, hockey-crazed Canucks
went for Slapshot in a big way, especially when the synthesized
voice yelled "He Scores!", or a Russian player was flattened
to the ice.

One of the most popular products at the show was a good-
looking peripheral from San Jose, California — Sequential Cir-

cuits' MusicMate keyboard, which is sold through Commodore
dealers. Pro-Line Software had an effective demonstration of
The Wordprocessor, by Steve Punter, on a Brother HR-15
printer. And for those whose BASIC programs run out of
memory, C'TEC Inc. of Galveston, Indiana, showed its Memx
64K to 256K memory board.

A rather strange tape drive made it to WOC II just hours
before the show opened: the Quick Data Drive from Genama-
tion Inc., developed in California. The storage medium for this
small device is a 'wafer', which holds 128K. The wafer is a tiny
cassette, about a third to a half of the size of a standard cassette.
An endless loop of tape races past the head, giving supposedly
faster sequential data handling. (The cost of the drive, when it
becomes available, will be $129.95).

...while looking for contraband, the

border men accidentally left behind a

bunch of read errors...

When not actually computing, many people are reading about
the hobby. One publisher represented was Copp Clark Pitman
Ltd., who produce a vast array of books for Commodore com-
puters. Sales agent Taras Tataryn flipped through a catalog
boasting thirty-seven books for the C-64, twelve for the VIC 20,
six for the Commodore 16, and twenty-one for Commodore com-
puters in general,

A new line of twenty-two Sunshine books from Britain ranges
in price from $12.95 to $14.95. Tatarjm predicted that competi-
tion from these books will drive prices down.

The international sale of Jim Butterfield's 198S Reference
Diary prompted one salesman to relate a lesson about promo-
tion. Apparently, sales were okay in Britain, but much better
in Australia. The inside of the diary was the same, but the cover
was different in Australia — black, with a big Commodore logo.
The strong identification with Commodore sold it, or so the story
goes.

In the field of computer aids for the disabled, Karl Ullman
of Informatic Software demonstrated a briefcase-sized keyboard
with large keys. Through the Votrax-based voice synthesizer,
a stroke victim could communicate using phrases selected from
a menu, even down a telephone line. Another program will pa-
tiently help a mentally retarded person to memorize an impor-
tant telephone number.

At the 'TPUG booth, a computer versus computer chess tour-
nament continued throughout the show. Club member Bill
Bullock reported that a 'sleeper' came out on top. His ranking
put Colossus Chess 2.0 first, followed by Sargon III and
Odesta's Chess 7.0. "It was a pretty slim sampling, though",
Bullock said. "All three were on a par. I'd like to look into it
further to see how they do over a larger number of games."

The World of Commodore was a good show for people who
wanted to see what was new, for those who just like to be around
computers, and for those who needed a first-hand look at a
package they were considering. To pre-Christmas shoppers, the
show offered plenty of bargains, such as disks at $15,00 a pack.
Because of the crowding, buyers sometimes needed sharp elbows
to get near the best stuff. Traffic on major aisles was stop and
go during peak hours.

Show manager Cam MacDonald was delighted with the at-
tendance, and announced that there will be a World of Com-
modore III starting November 28, 1985. Not bad for a show that
was originally intended as a one-shot celebration of Com-
modore's first quarter century. n

10 TPUG Magazine

New CBM Boss Wants More in the Family

by Ken Cox

The newly-appointed president of the Canadian subsidiary
of CommodoiT Business Machines has vowed to keep existing
Commodore owners in the "family", while adopting a
strategy to attract even more. As he proudl}^ surveyed his
company's display at the World of Commodore, Alfred
Duncan talked about plans for a bigger push into the business
market and for more computers in schools, whiie still keep-
ing the hobbyists interested.

On the latter scene, one of the complaints from Commodore
users has been a lack of upward compatibility in recent
machines, both in hardware and softwai-e. Duncan voiced cofi-
cern about alienating users. "We don't forget about our
customers once they buy a Commodore product. We would
like to keep them in the family for ever."

W^ile pointing out that Commodore 16 software runs on
the Plus/4, Duncan commented: "We try not to let the com-
patibility issue stand in the way of utilizing an improvement
in the technology. In the P!us/4, as a result of a change in
the operating system, we have much more usable RAM with
the 64K than was available in our previous products. That
results, unfortunately, in a lack of compatibility. But we
recognize the issue, and are paying close attention to it in
our research and development."

"... We don't forget about our

customers once they buy a Commodore

product."

Watch for a new computer on the business front. "Com-
modore has a technology licensing agreement with Hj^perton
that allows us to use the technology that Hyperion developed.
We intend to utilize that technology with some modifications
our engineers have made to introduce a new business com-
jniter. It will be fully IBM-compatible."

Some observers have become sceptical of Commodore's
product announcements, but Duncan insists the days of
touting computers that failed to appear on the market are
"long gone".

Surveys show that Commodore still lias a twenty per cent
share of the Canadian small business market, lai-gely because
of its past success. "You buy a computer system to do
something for you, and it doesn't matter when you buy it
whether or not there's something down the road that may
be a little more technologically advanced. It is still perform-
ing the function."

In the education market, Duncan wants to put Commodore
16s and 64p into more classrooms, along with educational soft-
ware. "We can put more computers jjer dollar into schools
than any other comjiuter t:ompany in the world. We're going
to continue to do that here in Canada."

This gives Commodore an advantage in the fiiture. because
youngsters who learn on a Commodore computer at school
are potential buyers for home machines.

Duncan gave an example of how truly international Com-
modore has become: "The semiconductors are manufactured
in Pennsylvania and California onto a wafer. The wafer is
then air-freighted to Hong Kong where it is cut up and turned
into a chip. The chips are then put onto a printed circuit board
either in Hong Kong, Japan or Taiwan. They are then air-

. . .The new business computer will
be fully IBM-compatible. . .

freighted all around the world to the assembly facilities. At
the moment there are two in the U.S., one in the U.K. and
one in Germany. The end units are distributed throughout
the world."

Duncan sees differences between North American users
and those in Europe: "The European user is less oriented
towards game and recreational software than we are in North
.America, and they seem to be much more interested in educa-
tion and productivity tji^es of software. The U.K. market is
unique in that they have much more software on cassettes
than we have here. That's partially a function of cost. Because
of the tax .structure, the CPU is a little bit more expensive
than it is here, and the cassette deck is a lot less expensive
than a disk drive."

Again on the Canadian scene, Duncan said Commodore of
Canada is one of the most successful subsidiaries in terms
of per capita sales.

"... We can put more computers per

dollar into schools than any computer

company in the world."

"Our penetration here in Canada is much higher than it
is in the United States. The number of units per household,
for example, is upwards of fifteen per cent in Canada where
it's only nine or ten per cent in the U.S. Having said that,
the Europeans are much more advanced than we are in
Canada in terms of home computing. Their usages are much
more productive and serious education oriented, and there
are more computers per household in Europe than there are
in Canada."

Commodore recognizes that Canada is a bilingual country,
and provides many French language educational programs.
It has taken a step further with the .-software built into the
new Plus/4. "The software came up here in English, and we
have now managed to translate that into French. We'll have
a fully French language Plus/4 product for the French-
.speaking market." □

February 1985 11

Program Piracy and Personal Ethics

by Jim Butterfield

Copyright ® 198J, Jim Butterfield. Permis-
sion to reprint is hereby granted, pro-
vided this notice is included in the
reprinted viateriaL

A number of isolated thoughts relating
to piracy, copyright, legality and ethics.

I try not to sound as if I'm preaching
on the subject of program piracy. If a
school student rips off a program that is
sold commercially, it won't cause me to
lose any sleep. But maybe it should cause
him or her to lose a little sleep.

If someone steals a program and then
feels rather tacky about it, that seems to
me to be an appropriate state of mind.
With thousands of free programs
available, why lift one in the first place?
But here's what baffles me: I can't
understand the types who steal programs
and then seem to think that the theft
makes them the smartest people on earth.
That's smart?

It can be interesting and educational to
look into protection mechanisms to see
how the trick is done. The area doesn't
interest me personally, but one can look
into inner workings of computers and
disk systems, and learn things about their
mechanisms and logic. If someone tells
me, "Hey ... I figured out how Galactic
Zappers does their protection system",
I'm likely to reply, "Good detective work;
I bet you had fun doing it".

If the same person tells me that a
backup was produced, I'm still not too
worried. But when I hear about copies
made for friends and relatives, I tend to
lose interest in the conversation and
move away. The annoying thing is that
such people seem to be expecting con-
gratulations for performing an action to
help mankind. They see themselves as
Robin Hood.

Pirates who make copies and give them
to friends are tacky. Pirates who make
copies and sell them are criminals. Once
you start making money from this kind
of stuff, the whole rationale of a 'youthful
prank' collapses.

But I'm still not sure how to rank pirate
pirates, who take pirated software and
copy it. Dumb, maybe? It is interesting
to note, however, that nobody in the
world gets madder than a pirate whose
work is ripped off. Talk about moral
indignation...

In the same vein, many pirates of
previous years have taken jobs with soft-
ware houses. It's amazing how their
ethics have changed, now that their own
programs are involved.

I've often said that the best protection
for programs is in support: updates, ser-
vice, documentation and warranty. Users
believe they are buying a service, not an
object. Too many software houses believe
they are selling an object — disk, tape or
cartridge — not a service.

. . .it is interesting to
note, however, that
nobody in the world
gets madder than a

pirate whose work is
ripped off . . .

At a recent TPUG meeting, I mention-
ed SubLogic's Flight Simulator II, say-
ing that it would be hard to pirate. This
is not so much for the disk protection
scheme as for the packaging: attractive
four-colour box, two substantial books
with four-colour covers, four navigation
charts, supplementary notes sheet, flight
control card and warranty card. Oh —
and it's a very good program, too.

With all this packaging and material —
all of which are important, if you want to
use the software effectively — piracy did
seem unlikely. Sure, there would be (and
are) a few disk copies around, but \vithout
the documentation, they would be of
limited value.

I was wrong. A highly professional
piracy group has been putting out bootleg
copies — complete with enclosure, four-
colour printing, and the whole package.
It even has the SubLogic warranty card
inside. More on this in a moment.

No club should tolerate open piracy on
club premises or club time. What
members do in the privacy of their own
home is between them and their cons-
ciences (and maybe the cops).

Many software houses believe that
clubs exist for the sole purpose of steal-
ing programs. I hope that's not true of
any clubs; it's certainly not true of TPUG.
But because of the implied bad reputa-
tion, clubs must make an effort to be
squeaky clean.

I recently received a letter from a
visitor to Toronto. He said, in part, that

it could be the clean and bright ap-
pearance of the city that led to us being
a highly ethical team up here.

It was a nice thought, but it doesn't
quite work.

Turns out the professional software
ring that has been bootlegging Flight
Simulator II is also a Canadian-based
group, not a hundred miles away from
Toronto. The story will probably break
before this article is published, but at the
time of writing 1 can't name names or
places.

It's nice to see Canadian technical in-
novation and commercial initiative at
work . . . usually. But I don't think I'll
brag about this one too much.

As far as I know, the laws on software
piracy have not been fully tested in the
courts yet. But there's an interesting
legal side issue: you can get 'em for sure
if they copy the documentation. The laws
about copying books are very clear in-
deed. D

PROFESSIONAL AID

(Far Commodore &4\

Here is one of ihemoil powcfluUnd versatile stalisti-
cjI and grapliics packa^L's available f^or ihe C*64.

in terms of number crunching, PROFESSIONAL AID
will calculaie the standard ilalislics [means, median,
mode, standard deviation, variance, min/max, range)
and display (tabular and hiiiogram) the frequency
distribution for a set of data. It wilS determine
bfvariate (two variables) regress/pfj fits, providing
fitted coefficients standard errors of lire esii males (or
each coefficient, the covariance. R and R^ reiidual
variance, rcsiriuaU. and scatter ploti. You also have
ihe chojceof several automatic naiairansfofmalions.
and can define your owr:.

PROfESSIONAL AtD also does mukiple hnosr
regression. The results presented are the estimated
coelficienis and iheif standard errors, T values, and
betas. Also supplied are R'. the standard error of the
estimate, the F value, and ihe residuaU. You may also
make varia^ble transformations so thai you can
perform nonlinear jcgrcsston, e.g., polynomial
regression.

Another feature is ■ihori-tvrm ior^cssUng. Thfge
methods are empioyeri: linear regression, moving
averages (span specified by iheuserli,andeicponential
smoothing. In the latter case, you may choose the
weighting facHor, or let the computer choose the
optimal value through linear regression.

PROFESSIONAL AID has several options for graph
creation.

• Bar-charts — You may plot mu/n-vjrtafa/e horr-
zontal and vertical bar charts.

• Pie charts — High resolution and labelled!

• High-resolution line graphs.

• High-resolution scatter/point graphs.

For aU the graphs, the axes are drawn, the scales are
shown, and the ai:is labels are displayed.

For (hose with printers (Commodore 1525/MPS-SOl,
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12 TPUG Magazine

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SuperPET Deeper Down

by Brad Bjorndahl

Up to this point, my articles on the
SuperPET have been intended to il-
lustrate its character and potential. This
may have resulted in an overly positive
image of the machine. A little serious
criticism is due, if only to placate the
cynics.

Most of the topics have been genera!
and at a high level: this is not the place
to provide detailed descriptions of the
ROM routines. At a high level the
SuperPET is, in fact, well designed. The
languages have only minor bugs, the
ROM routines are useful and effective,
and file handling is better than Com-
modore's.

On a nuts-and-bolts plane, difficulties
arise. Waterloo used a high-level
language called WSL to generate most
of its code for the interpreters, editors
and the operating system. Many se-
quences of instructions could have been
reduced in size, if only WSL 'knew' the
functions of all the registers. Because of
two projects that I will describe in a mo-
ment, it has become painfully clear just
how difficult and inefficient the WSL
code can be. For example, it has been
estimated by more than one person (and
I agree) that the operating system is
about twice as large as it needs to be.
Also, the editor has been rewritten so
that it is several times faster, and re-
quires two fewer disk blocks, than the
WATCOM version. The rewritten ver-
sion, by J. Toebes, is available from
TPUG and ISPUG - see the December
1984 SuperPET Soflware article. To
bring the point home, the WATCOM
microBASIC interpreter requires 40K of
memory despite using many ROM
routines.

The first of the two projects involves
a number of members of ISPUG (led by
Toebes) who are attempting to prepare
a BASIC compiler to run on the 6809
microprocessor. It will be modelled after
the WATCOM microBASIC. There are
currently no compilers for the 6809 side
of the SuperPET and, since microBASIC
is so well designed and BASIC is popular
in general, it seems to me an obvious
choice. After volunteering to help, I was
sent two 4K banks of the WSL inter-
preter code. The first phase of the pro-
ject, the disassembly, had been done

before I entered. The second phase (at
least as difficult) is to structure, comment
and document the code as well as possi-
ble. After examining the output of WSL,
I feel that the following comments are
fair.

First, WSL is not optimised to the 6809
processor. There is a great deal of redun-
dancy because registers are often load-
ed with values that they already contain.
Secondly, many structures that are ap-
parent in the code cannot be replaced
\«th the structures provided by the
microAssembler: I often find a 'Guess-
Ad mit-Endguess' structure that contains
a branch out of the structure, defeating
its purpose. Perhaps WATCOM has a
more sophisticated set of structure
statements (as implied in their Portable
Software article in the Augusts September
1984 issue). Thirdly, there are many
'jump' statements, to the middle of other
subroutines. What is worse, as far as
disassembly is concerned, is that the
destination subroutines are often in other
banks of memory.

The same problems also made the se-
cond project more difficult. The OS-9
operating system, lately adapted for the
SuperPET by TPUG (with special help
from Avygdor Moise), requires routines
called drivers, whose function is to inter-
face the operating system with I/O hard-
ware. While working on the disk routines,
Moise asked for assistance with the

... It has become

painfully clear just how

difficult and Inefficient

the WSL code can

be. . .

keyboard, screen and port drivers. I of-
fered to write a driver for keyboard. In
order to do this, I found that it was
necessary to determine how the existing
interrupt routines 'interrogate' the
keyboard PIA chip. That code was par-
ticularly messy, with numerous jumps
and branches, but it was not very long.
In short, I rewrote the keyboard driver
in a structured way. Moise took the
result, corrected a few bugs I had in-
troduced, and improved the quality of the
code still more. In addition, he added

some new features (such as two-key
rollover) and implemented a control key.

As a result of being involved with these
two projects, I can briefly describe the
WSL output as low-quality code — the
kind of work that, from a human pro-
grammer, might be termed 'amateurish'.
Does the quality of the code affect the
user'/ This is the only important question
for most SuperPET owners. There are
two somewhat opposing considerations,
with respect to the quality of software
code — ease of maintenance, and efficien-
cy. In this case, maintenance is not an
issue. The average user will not be modi-
fjing the operating system or inter-
preters, as was done for the keyboard
driver.

Code efficiency has two complementary
aspects: size and speed, I have already
described how much memory is demand-
ed by the operating system and
microBASIC. However, the memory us-
ed by the languages is bank-switched, and
is not normally available to a user's pro-
gram. All interpreters, large and small,
provide about 30K of low memory to the
user. No doubt PEEKs, POKEs and
system calls can make unused portions of
bank-switched memory available, if
necessary. Speed of code is a different
problem. Any SuperPET user will tell you
that the languages are relatively slow.
Wlienever I switch over to BASIC 4.0, 1
am surprised at how fast it seems to be.
WATCOM microBASIC is much nicer to
use than BASIC 4.0, but I will make a
very rough guess that it is fifty per cent
slower.

There was a time when I thought that
the speed difference was somehow due to
the extra features that had to be sup-
ported, I know now that it is mainly a
result of inefficient code. Of course, no
one uses interpreters for run time effi-
ciency, but some users will find the long
jobs tedious. For example, I have an APL
program that searches numerical se-
quences for looping, and a search of five
hundred sequences takes two to five
hours, depending on the starting
parameter. I have no doubt that
reasonably efficient code would execute
in minutes, not hours, but I can't com-
plain too much. Without the APL inter-
preter I probably would not have the pro-
gram at all. D

14 TPUG Magazine

Game Piracy: Mastertronic's Answer

by Ian A. Wright

In one corner of the 'World of Com-
modore W show I was assaulted by a
sight and sound barrage that seemed to
herald a change in the marketing of com-
puter software. A dance group breakin'
to the Jacksons' music attracted crowds
to the iWastertronic display, but what
caught my attention was their prices.
Mastertronic, a British company, is sell-
ing software games for under ten dollars.
That's right ~ packaged games at $7.99
for the VIC 20 and S9.99 for C-64 games.
This company may single-handedly alter
the industry's marketing strategies for
computer games — and may help to stop
the problem of software piracy.

Software, Gameware

I should distinguish between computer
software games, and software for
business users and utilities. Games —
even complex ones — don't ordinarily re-
quire a great deal of documentation or
after-sales support from the manufac-
turer. However, business software and
utilities (word processors, spreadsheets,
database managers) usually have
elaborate manuals and tutorials, and in-
clude some kind of update process in the
package. Most piracy is aimed at the
games market because most business
software is difficult to use unless you
have the complete package. Few
businesses will risk their reputation by us-
ing stolen software, and few home users
are willing to forego the necessary hand-
holding.

Gameware prices

Bought any games recently? The average
price for computer games is close to forty
dollarstCanadian, without tax), according
to Barbara Freedman of Canadian Soft-
ware Source, while some — Ken Uston's
Blackjack is one example — are priced
at over sixty dollars. These games may
be worth the sticker price and more;
nevertheless, gameware costs are a con-
tributing factor in the growth of the
'pirate market'. Software designers say
they must be paid for their art, and pro-
grammers for their time and effort in pro-
ducing a game. Manufactures cite rising
costs for production and materials. Dis-
tributors and retailers have to contend
with fixed costs and hmited shelf-life.

Therefore prices are high — often beyond
the means of the young people for whom
the games are mainly intended. Their
perspective is different: their time is
unlimited, their labour cost is zero, and
their fixed costs are negligible. Thus was
born the 'pirate'.

The Pirates

For as long as software protection has ex-
isted, so have the small, highly-skilled
groups dedicated to breaking it down. As
the protection got more sophisticated, so
did the pirates, with an increasing em-
phasis on specialization. According to a
number of knowledgeable sources, pirate
groups were typically composed of
students of various ages, some of whom
were adroit at dealing with, say,
read/write errors. When a piece of
heavily protected software was obtained
(bought, borrowed, loaned...) it might
have to be passed around the group until
all the keys were found. That could in-
volve rewriting whole sections of machine
code — an immensely time consuming
job. The group's final touch would be to
rewrite the program's screen credits to
include a line like "...brought to you by
the BIT BYTER". This was their way of
advertising their expertise and stroking
their egos.

For a number of reasons, pirate groups
are no longer so widespread as they once
were. Some former pirates have matured
and found other activities to occupy their
time. For many, the thrill of breaking a
program is gone since the manufacturers
cannot afford to install ever more
sophisticated protection schemes. The
game has become boring.

Some manufacturers have found it
necessary to employ former pirates as
professional protection consultants, to
construct or test protection schemes for
new products. Some groups have
disbanded because of internal disputes.
'Wr'hatever the reason, there are now
fewer of these groups around — but game
piracy is becoming even more common.

The Domestic Pirate

In recent months there has been an ex-
plosion in the material designed to 'break'
existing software protection schemes.
Disk-copy programs and how-to books are
readily available. No longer is it
necessary to be part of a pirate group:

now you can buy (or copy) the expertise,
and 'do it yourself. Rather than just
pirates, there are now 'traders' who
barter pirated game copies with each
other — somewhat like bubble-gum cards.
To me, the most amusing part of home
piracy is that those commercial copy pro-
grams are also protected against copjnng.
You cannot use your new copy program
to copy itself so you can give it to your
friends — but other copy programs can
copy your copy-protected copy program!

IVIastertronic's Solution

The Mastertronic line of British software
is being handled in Canada by Bullock
Industries of Markliam, and according to
David Harding, Bullock's aggressive
sales policy has put Mastertronic
gameware into a number of department
and mass-merchandising stores like K-
Mart, Simpson's, Woolco and Zellers.
Back in the U.K., over fifty per cent of
iVIastertronic's line of games made it to
the software 'Top Ten', and Mastertronic
has gained thirty per cent of the entire
games market.

Any game costing less than ten dollars
must be simple, and lacking in high qual-
ity graphics and sound, right? Wrong. My
son has been playing Mastertronic's
Chiller, BMX Racers and Space Walk
recently, and the quality of each of these
is better than most games that sell for
over twice the price. I'll leave it to him
to review the games, but I was favourably
impressed.

Harding says, "There's a short interest
attention span and a low boredom
threshold on any arcade game, regardless
of price. Who wants to pay top dollar for
an eventual dust collector?" My own ex-
perience bears this out: there are forty
dollar games on my desk that I have not
loaded for months.

Mastertronic shouldn't be troubled by
piracy — the cost is so low that there is
no incentive to wait for a pirated copy.
The games can be bought with pocket
money rather than being a major pur-
chase. Gameware may be moving to the
same status as commercial audio records
and tapes. It was originally thought that
the introduction of tape machines would
ruin the record industry: it didn't happen.
The continuing spiral of game protection
and piracy have to stop somewhere. Let's
hope Mastertronic will lead the way. D

February 1985 15

New Computers At The CES Show

by Chris Bennett

Commodore introduced two new computers at the winter
Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas in early
January. A variety of new peripherals and software was
also shown.

Commodore 128 Personal Computer

The Commodore 128 Personal Computer is a sleek
machine in a light beige case. It has a 92-key typewriter-
style keyboard with a 14-key numeric keypad, eight pro-
grammable function keys, individual cursor keys, a HELP

The C-ms '.s Commodore 6k Mode in .suirf to be 100 per cent com-
patible with nil C-64 sqfttcare. both on disk and on cartridge.

key, a 40/80 column key, and other keys called LINE
FEED, NO SCROLL, ESCAPE, TAB, ALT and CAP
LOCK. The machine comes with 128K of RAM, user selec-
table 40/80 colmnn full colour display, and the best BASIC
of any Commodore machine. It will be available in the
spring, and should sell for about 250 dollars U.S.

Rumours about the C-128 have been flying about for
some time, but they were always irritatingly vague or con-
tradictory. Now we can see why — this is a complex
machine. For starters, the C-128 has three operating
modes. The Commodore 64 Mode is said to be 100 per cent
compatible with al! C-64 software, both on disk and on car-
tridge. The CP/M Mode uses Digital Research's CP/M 3.0
operating system. This means that all software written for
CP/\rill run with little or no modification. The Commodore
128 Mode features Commodore's most powerful version of
BASIC called - would you believe - BASIC 7.0. This is
an extended BASIC after the pattern of the Plus/4 and
C-16, but with powerful new commands for dealing with
sprites and sound. Video output in Commodore 128 Mode
can be set to either 40 column colour, or to 80 column col-
our (in conjunction with the new 1902 RGBI monitor).

The C-128 can be expanded to 512K of RAM, although
only 128K can be used for BASIC. The 8502 (6502 Com-

patible) microprocessor runs at either 1 or 2 MHz clock
speed. The Z80A microprocessor used for CP/M mode
runs at 4 MHz, while the 6510A microprocessor (for C-64
mode) runs at 1.02 MHz. The 80 column screen has 640 by
200 pixels and the video outputs include a digital RGBI,
chroma/luma, standard NTSC composite video and
RF/TV.

While the C-128 mil work with existing peripherals, the
full power of the machine will not be realized unless the
Commodore 1571 high-speed disk drive and 1902 RGBI
monitor (80 column colour) are used.

Commodore LCD Personal Computer

The Commodore LCD Personal Computer is a briefcase-
size, lightweight computer complete with built-in applica-
tions software and a 300 baud auto-answer/auto-dial
modem. Weighing about five pounds, the LCD lap com-
puter has built-in Commodore BASIC 3.6, 32K RAM, 96K
ROM, and one of the largest screens available in its class
(80 columns by 16 line Liquid Crystal Display). It features
a 72-key keyboard with eight programmable function keys
and four cursor keys, and can run on 4 AA alkaline bat-
teries for 15 hours.

The software built into the LCD computer includes a
word processor, a file manager, a spreadsheet, an address
book, a scheduler, a calculator, a memo pad and a terminal
emulator. The machine also has a serial I/O port for Com-
modore disk drives and printers, an RS-232C port, a Cen-

Tke Commodore LCD Personal Computer can run on U AA
alkaline batteries for 15 hours.

tronics port, modular phone jacks for a direct connect
modem, an expansion port, and a bar code reader port
(Hewlett/Packard Compatible). The LCD will be available

16 TPUG Magazine

during the first half of 1985 at a cost of about 500 dollars
U.S.

New Peripherals

Besides the new computers, Commodore showed a
variety of new peripherals, including a fast disk drive, hi-
res monochrome and colour monitors, and two new
modems.

In the CP/M mode, the 1571 disk drive will hold about JtlOK of for-
matted data.

The Commodore 1571 is a double-sided disk drive that
will work with the C-128 in Commodore 64 IVIode at 300
ops (just like the 1541); in C-128 Mode, it runs at 2000 eps;
in CP/M Mode it will read at 3500 cps and will also read
most CPM format disks, including IBM system 34, Kaypro
and Osborne. In C-128 mode, the 1571 uses both sides of
the disk, for a total of 350K of storage. In the CP/M mode,
the 1571 will hold about 410K of formatted data. In the
C-64 mode, the standard 170K on one side is available.

The Commodore 1901 Monochrome Monitor is suited
for applications such as wordprocessing, database, and
spreadsheets that need a high quality 80 column non-
colour display.

The Commodore 1902 RGBI/Composite monitor com-
plements the C-128 computer. It is a high-quality colour
monitor that will provide a clear display in either 40 or 80
column mode. No special cables or interfaces are needed.
The monitor is compatible with all computers using RGBI
or composite output, as well as with videocassette
recorders.

The Commodore 1660 and 1670 are two new modems
for the Commodore 64, Plus/4 or Commodore 128. The
1660 is a 300 baud direct-connect modem with auto-
answer, auto-dial, and a built-in speaker. The 1670 is a
300/1200 baud direct-connect modem that featm'es auto-
answer/auto-dial, auto baud rate and parity, and a built-in
speaker.

The March issue o/TPUG Magazine mil contain in-depth
coverage of the new hardware and software announced at
CES. ' D

JOIN TPUG

The largest Commodore Users Group
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Rfi;ylur nifniber (jtlemls meetings)
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February 1985 17

Sunset Days For The VIC 20?

by Malcolm O'Brien

"The one to grow on". That's what the
ads said. A lot of us believed it, too —
maybe a million of us, or so. If you
couldn't trust Captain Kirk, who could
you trust? For many of us, it became"the
one to grow tired of"; or"the one to grow
out of". Only a very few of us decided
that it was"the one to grow old with".

Those with long memories (about three
years — a long time in the computer
world) will perhaps remember that the
VIC 20 came onto the market with a
bang. Wonderful features, at a wonder-
ful price. Real keys, not a flat membrane
keyboard iike the Sinclair or the Atari
400! Colour and hi-res graphics! Sound,
a disk drive, game cartridges and a cheap
modem! This computer had everything,
and at a fraction of the price of an Apple
II or Atari 800!

1 always wanted an Atari 800, but
couldn't afford one. A friend bought one,
though. It cost him. almost a thousand
dollars. At least by then they were in-
cluding the BASIC ROM with the
machine, instead of selling it separately!
About six months later, I bought a VIC
20: a steal at 250 dollars (second-hand,
with no storage device). Another 100
dollars got me a Datasette, and I already
had a black-and-white TV that I'd been
using with my Sinclair ZX81.

I read the Programmer's Reference
Manual, started buying Compute! (there
was no Gazette at that point) and attend-
ed a TPUG VIC meeting (VIC meetings
were bigger then — even when Jim But-
terfield wasji't there). I learned Com-
modore BASIC and 6502 machine
language. And today, although I compute
on a daily basis, my VIC 20 sits ignored
— forlorn and rejected. But why?

Grim reality set in. The hi-res graphics
amounted to a sine wave at the upper left
corner of the screen. The absence of
graphic and sound commands in BASIC
meant memorizing an array of five-digit
numbers, along with the purposes of the
various values that could be POKEd into
them. The 3583 bytes were insufficient
to accommodate much of a program in
BASIC, unless you chained three of them
together and didn't mind the wait while
the Datasette loaded them in. The worst
part, for me, was the 22-column screen.
The kindest word I can think of to

describe the VIC 20 screen is "goofy". It
drove me nuts! I wanted to continue com-
puting, but I couldn't stand the thought
of looking at that screen again. For a
time, I went back to the Sinclair!

To be fair, I still love the keyboard. The
VIC 20 does have the 6502, the VIC chip,
the interface adapters; it can take extra
RAM, can be interfaced to a hard drive
or a BSR module, can be the brains of a
robot; best of all, there are 80-column
boards!

The problem is: everybody 'grew on'
their VIC 20s in different ways. Maybe
you've encountered the same problem
that I heard about at that first VIC
meeting. A man there had bought a
motherboard, 8K cartridge and a 16K
cartridge. When he put them all together,
he only had 16K. His 8K occupied the
same memory addresses as his 16K.
Right away, as a new user, he had spent
a significant sum of money on something
that was useless to him.

If Commodore had offered a cartridge
that added the full complement of RAM
and extra columns on the screen, the VIC
20 would be alive today. But the code for
the extra columns would have been
located at $A0OO, where everything else
was located. That's why you can't use the
SuperExpander and Programmer's Aid
at the same time, even though you might
have bought a motherboard just to do
that very thing. Software developers
couldn't be sure of the configuration of
the machines, and so it was difficult,
perhaps, to cater to the VIC 20 market.

Problems. Confusion. I used the term-
inal program that came with the 1650
Automodem, It runs on the unexpanded

VIC 20. Was I surprised when it ceased
to run after I'd plugged in 16K! The
machine language is loaded along with
the BASIC, and loads into a different ad-
dress when the 16K is in. The BASIC in-
cludes the statement SYS 4300, but the
ML isn't there any more! The program

...somewhere, there is
a VIC 20 owner who
learned everything
about the machine...

should really PEEK the start of BASIC
and add an offset. But it doesn't, so the
hapless user has to unplug the cartridge,
and load again.

It behooved the VIC 20 owner to know
the basic machine very well and to eye the
market very carefully before buying
anything! This was hardly the 'user
friendliness' that people were looking for
when they bought the machine. Many
owners made costly errors because they
were ill-informed; moreover, this situa-
tion continues to this day. It is comfor-
ting to think that it now costs only 79
dollars to put yourself into this situation.

Somewhere, there is a VIC 20 owner
who learned everything about the
machine, made informed and prudent
purchasing decisions in expanding his
machine, and created for himself a viable,
valuable and powerful computer system
that he is using every day. And that user
now sits ignored — forlorn and rejected.

But there may be light at the end of the
tunnel (instead of a train). Something
may happen to give new life to the VIC
20 and its user. My crystal ball is cloudy,
but I perceive a good, cheap hardware
modification coupled with software sup-
port from the usual sources (user groups
and magazines). Some changes can have
a dramatic effect. The implementation of
OS/9 for the SuperPET is a case in point.
As I tjTjed the press release for TPUG's
announcement of this development, I had
the feeling that microcomputer history
was being made. And I have no doubt
that this will change the face of com-
puting in the world of Commodore.

All that's needed to revive the VIC 20
is ideas. Maybe they will be your ideas.
Give it some thought. In the meantime,
remember: it's not how much you get, it's
how little it costs. Caveat emptor. D

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m

Forecasting with the 8032: Part Six

by John Shepherd

PET disk (P)T6 in the TPUG library con-
tains four programs that can be used to
•project historical data into the future, us-
ing a process called time series analysis.
The first jive parts of this series of articles
fTPUG Magazine, May, June, July,
AugustJSeptember, October and December
issues) defined some forecasting term-
inology and a few of the concepts, and
showed hotv to operate the programs. In
this, the final article of the series, John
Shepherd discusses how to choose the right
forecasting model for a particular
application.

Forecasters today have literally hundreds
of models from which to choose. The
choice of an optimum model is a matter
of judgement requiring some experience.
The four TPUG programs offer some
twenty-five commonly used forecasting
models. In this final article of the series,
I will try to show how to produce realistic
forecasts using these programs.

Collect the Data

The very first step in preparing any
forecast is to gather the historical data.
This must be in the form of a uniform
time series, with no gaps due to missing
data. In the subsequent calculation of ex-
pected forecast error, the more data we
have, the better the statistical evaluation
of the model. If there is seasonality in the
data, at least two and preferably three
'years' of data are required to calculate
usable seasonality factors.

Graph the Data

The next step is to graph the data to ex-
amine it for a pattern, or even for a lack
of pattern. The choice of optimum
forecasting model is very dependant upon
the observed historical data pattern. The
program forest data. 8 accepts data as a
sequential file, for use in the three other
programs, and permits up to 100 data
points to be shown on the 8032 screen as
a double density plot.

A number of possible data patterns are
shown in Figure I. In evaluating various
alternative forecasting models, look to
see whether the data show any 'trend',
or whether they show a 'constant de-
mand'. If there is trend, try to see
whether it is 'linear' or 'quadratic'. Watch

out for changes in trend, which are called
'ramps'.

Sometimes, sudden but sustained
changes in the level of demand occur.
These are called 'step changes'. 'Im-
pulses' are infrequent, random and large
variations in demand which, if present,
can also affect the choice of model. Fre-
quent random variations in the data about
a trend are called 'noise'. Try to deter-
mine whether the data shows a high or
low amount of noise. The program forest
data. 8 will calculate seasonality factors
to help in determining whether any
significant amount of seasonality is pre-
sent. All of these patterns are shown in
Figure I. •

Determine Forecast
Requirements

Having examined the data, the next step
in deciding upon the optimum model is to
determine the forecast requirements. The

most important consideration is the
forecast lead time — whether the forecast
is to be immediate, short-term, medium-
term or long-term. For example, the ef-
fect of seasonality is not important for
long-term forecasts, but must be con-
sidered for immediate or short-term pro-
jections. Exponential smoothing models
are more suitable than linear regression
models for immediate or short-term
forecasts. The former give the most
weight to recent data, whereas the lat-
ter give equal weight to both old and new
data.

It is important to keep the cost of the
forecasting procedures to a minimum,
particularly if there are many sets of data
to analyze. There are two kinds of costs.
'Initial costs' are those associated with
gathering the first set of data, determin-
ing the optimum model and preparing the
first forecast. 'Iterative costs' are those
associated with preparing subsequent
forecasts, as data is added for subsequent

■o
c
<s
E

01

ID

■a

c
a
E
«

TJ

TJ

C

a

E

01

•a

•0

c
a

- • . • • • 0)

•; •• • ..

•

Figure 1 "g

• • a

•
• •
•
• • •

• • •
• •

•
•

•

time

constant demand

1

•
•
•

• •

time
inear trend

E

lime
quadratic trend

•
•

•

time
ramp

• . 1

01

• •
•

time
Step change

•D

.••• 1

• •

•

time
impulse

• •
• •

time time lime
high noise low noise seasonality

20 TPUG Magazine

periods. One iterative cost is the cost of
proriding memory space for the historical
data required for iterative calculations.
Exponential smoothing models require a
minimum of data, whereas linear regres-
sion models usually require considerably
more data.

The most important property of a
model, however, is that it be easily
understood by the person using the
forecast. The purpose of a forecast is to
reduce uncertainty and risk in decision
making. All forecasts will usually have
some error, although the proper use of
these programs can determine the
amount of error to be expected. The most
sophisticated and expensive techniques
cannot eliminate this uncertainty. If a
user does not understand the rationale
behind a forecast, he will not understand
the degree of uncertainty and will not use
the forecast properly.

Choose the Best Model

In choosing an optimum forecasting
model, judgement must be used. It would
be possible to develop a program to
mechanically try out all twenty-five
models, to choose the mode! with the best

statistical fit. Such a procedure should be
used only with extreme care, if at all. Just
as most people can find meaningful pat-
terns in random data, if they examine
them long enough, so can a computer un-
cover a result that reflects aberrations in
a particular data set, rather than choos-
ing a meaningful model for projecting a
forecast.

For the eleven basic model categories
in the TPUG programs. Table I sum-
marizes their applicability to different
data patterns and forecast requirements.
In choosing a model, do not expect it to
describe any underljing process; choose
the simplest model that handles the
observed pattern, meets the re-
quirements and has a reasonable fit to the
data. In some cases, none of the models
may fit particularly well: often, the data
will be highly random, and the forecast
would not be significantly improved by
more sophisticated models.

Remember the example of stock
market prices. Many studies have shown
that stock market price movements are
essentially random, even though for short
periods patterns are often apparent. Over
the long run, the 'naive' forecasting

model provides the 'best' fit for such
stock price data, even though to a user,
the degree of uncertainty of such a
'forecast' may be unacceptably high.

The key characteristics of the eleven
basic forecasting models are as follows:

Naive Model

Perhaps because of its simplicity, this
model is frequently used for immediate
and short-term forecasts, where demand
is relatively constant and where there is
low noise. It is easily understood, has low
initial and iterative costs, and requires a
minimum of memory. It is frequently ad-
justed for seasonality. As is true for ail
moving average forecasts, the greater
the forecast lead time, the greater the
degree of uncertainty in the forecast.
Always compare the performance of the
model you have chosen against the naive
model.

Linear Regression

Regression models are used for medium
and long-term forecasts. They are not
suitable for data patterns showing ramp
or step changes because the oldest data
is weighted equally with the more recent

//MMMm^mMM^A

DATA PATTERN

Constant Demand

E

E

N

E

E

E

N

E

N

N

N

\

Linear Trend

N

E

N

E

E

N

E

N

E

N

E

Quadratic Trend

N

N

E

E

E

N

N

N

N

E

Ramp

N

N

N

N

N

E(2)

N

E(2)

E(2)

E

Step Change

E

N

N

N

H

E(2)

0(2)

E(2)

0(2)

0(2)

E

Impulse

N

E(3)

0(3)

E(3)

0(3)

0(3}

E

High Noise

N

E

E

E

E

E(3)

E(3)

E(3)

E{3)

E(3)

E

Low Noise

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

Seasonality

E(1)

Ed)

Ed)

E

E

E(1)

E(1)

E(1)

E(1)

E(1)

E(1)

FORECAST
REQUIREMENTS

Immediate-term

E

N

N

N

N

E

E

E

E

E

E

Short-term

F

N

N

E

E

E

E

E

E

Medium-term.

N

E

E

N

U

N

N

N

N

Long-term

N

E

E

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

Available Storage Low

E

N

N

N

N

0(2)

0(2)

E

E

E

E

Easily Understood

E

E

E

E

N

E

N

N

N

N

Recent Data Most Weight

E

N

N

N

N

E{2)

E(2)

E(2)

E(2)

E(2)

N

Initialization Cost Low

E

N

N

N

N

E

E

O

Iteration Cost Low

E

N

N

N

N

E

E

E

E

E

E

Can Vary Smoothing

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

E

TPUG Program "FORCST"

ma. 8
exp.S

glm.8

glm.8

glm.8

glm.8

ma. 8

ma.8

exp.8 exp.8

exp.8

expB

NOTES: E = Excellent; - Possibly Useful; N = Not Suitable

(1) = With Seasonality option; (2) = With "N" low or alpha high: (3) = With "N" high or alpha low

Table 1

February 1985 21

data. They require considerably more
memory capacity than moving average
models and take longer to calculate. Use
linear regression models if the basic data
pattern appears to fluctuate around a
straight line.

Quadratic Regression

Quadratic models should be considered if
the basic data pattern appears to fluc-
tuate around a curved trend line. Use
with caution on long-term forecasts,
because the influence of the quadratic
term in the equation can grow rapidly
with time.

Additive Seasonality

This is the most readily understood cor-
rection for seasonality. In the TPUG pro-
grams, simple additive seasonality is
available only with the regression models.
Of all the models in the set, these require
the most data and take the most time to
calculate.

Trigonometric Seasonality

This seasonality correction is available in
additive and multiplicative forms with the
regression equations. For a proper
evaluation, these models require at least
30 to 40 data points.

Simple IVIoving Average

Like the naive model, simple moving

averages are used for immediate and
short-term forecasts where there is a
relatively constant demand. With a large
enough period, high noise levels can be
averaged out and the effects of impulses
minimized. With corrections for
seasonality these models find wide use.

Double Moving Average

These models are used for immediate and
short-term forecasts where demand
shows a trend. They are frequently cor-
rected for seasonality.

Simple Exponential
Smoothing

Exponential smoothing models require a
minimum of memory but are less readily
understood by users. They are used for
immediate to short-term forecasts and
are frequently adjusted for seasonality.
As is true for moving average models, the
greater the lead time, the greater the
potential forecast error. Simple exponen-
tial smoothing is used where demand is
relatively constant, and can often be us-
ed interchangeably with a simple moving
average.

Double Exponential
Smoothing

These models are used where demand
shows a trend or a ramp pattern. Because

they are difficult for users to understand,
double moving averages may be used in-
stead, and often perform just as well.

Triple Exponential
Smoothing

Triple exponential smoothing is rarely us-
ed, unless the data pattern shows a
curved trend. Correction for seasonality
is available as an option.

Adaptive Smoothing

For immediate to short-term forecasts,
these models usually perform well
because the smoothing constant
automatically increases to counteract any
sustained increase in forecast error. A
major drawback, however, is the com-
plexity of these models.

Putting It All Together

Remember that all time series forecasts
assume that a previous data pattern will,
at least to some extent, be repeated in the
future. Always compare the expected
forecast error of the 'optimum' model
that you have chosen with the error for
the naive model. If the two errors are
similar in magnitude, then possibly the
data is highly random. Usually, however,
the 'optimum' model will produce a lower
error. Cheek the screen error graph. If
it looks random then it is not likely that
a significantly better model will be found.

Super-OS/9: TPUG Implements
Ultimate SuperPET Operating System

OS/9 lives! The SuperPET can now run
the C language, compiled FORTRAN 77,
compiled Pascal, compiled BASIC, a
number of spreadsheets, data bases, word
processors and 6809 assemblers. In short,
the SuperPET (and the 8032 PET, if you
add a SuperPET board), has a new lease
on life. Super-OS/9 programs will now
run on a whole series of other machines.
Also, the world of OS/9 — and there is
quite a bit out there — is now available
on your SuperPET.

Implementing Super-OS/9 required
that certain problems be resolved: the
SuperPET hardware was not compatible
with the requirements of a disk-based
operating system; and OS/9 software had
to be made compatible with the
SuperPET keyboard, screen, memory
and disk, and the restrictions imposed by
the ROM-based Waterloo Operating
System.

Here are TPUG's solution to these

problems:

• OS/9 required 64K of contiguously ad-
dressed RAM. A small hardware device
has been designed, built and tested to
convert the SuperPET's bank-switched
memory to meet these requirements
while maintaining all PET and SuperPET
functions and capabilities. That is, with
Super-OS/9, you gain a lot and give up
nothing.

• TPUG purchased exclusive rights to im-
plement OS/9 on Commodore computers.
We transferred OS/9 source and binary
code from 8" OS/9 disks to CBM format.
We built a series of machine language
tools to make this transfer possible.

• We then created Waterloo assembler
source code from the OS/9 files and
developed drivers for OS/9. These drivers
include programs to access the keyboard,

the clock, and all I/O devices.

• It was still necessary to make the code
generated by Waterloo's assembler com-
patible with the requirements of OS/9,
We wrote a linker and loader that create
this compatibility.

• To ensure an adequate and stable
operating system, thorough testing and
extensive debugging began in late
November, 1984 (TPUG received the
source code in late September, 1984).

The final operating system reflects this
emphasis on quality. TPUG has created
a standard OS/9 that will run any stan-
dard OS/9 Level I program that has been
transferred to a CBM disk. TPUG will in-
itially assist with these transfers until
transfer utilities are available in our
library and vendors begin to support our
format.

22 TPUG Magazine

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Programmable Function Keys

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Supports VT/52 and Televideo 91 0/920
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A SOPHISTICATED AND EASY TO USE FILE

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1) Complele Menu Driven sub-
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2) Simple One Siroke Key Com-
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3) Free form record layout design
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4) Maximum ol SO lields per
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5) Maximum oi 256 charac-
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6) Average ol 1000 records per
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7) Fast 3 second search using
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8) Full arithmetic calculations
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9) Built in muUdunction colum-
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with single key recognition between 300 and 1 200 baud. Full password and
accounting system to monitor users. Easy editing features of mail and
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users with high level security can ootnmand the BBS and run BASIC programs.
CXMxiard $125.00

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Offers XMODEM protocol for file transfers - 255 line back scrolling - 300
to 4800 baud rates - DISK and PRINTER output without buffering - COyfvoice
also supported for verbal output.
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Also Ask About
VIController

Wireless remote control
system for ttie VIC20
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VIC-20 and CBM-e-l
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COMclock/
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COM voice by Genesis

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W/Exleinal Speaker S163 95

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♦' .♦' .♦

Windsor's CoBBodore Coaputer Club

MARCH 23/24, 1985
proudly
presents

J/ At BUTTERHELV

In CO operation with St. Clair College

Members -- ^0.00
Hon members -- ^15.00
i^fter Feb. 20,1985 add |7.00

Details available from The PET Educator's Group
c/o P.O. Box 454, Station A, Windsor N9A 6L7
or by phoning JOHN MOORE (519-253-8658) after 5:00pm

1985

TPUG Annual Conference

May 25th and 26th . .

Guest speakers include:

David Berezowski
The Bradley Brothers
Jim Butterfield
IHal Chamberlin
Dr. Frank Covitz
Elizabeth Deal
Keith Faikner
Paul Higginbottom
Dave Hook
Len Lindsay
Lou Sander
with guest speakers
from Windsor PET
Educators Group

be there

February 1985 25

4Th AnnuaI
TPUG Conference

May25, 26, 1985
REGISTRATION FORM

Pre-registration deadline — May 1 0, 1 985
New registrations will be processed
at the conference if space permits.

Family member rate not applicable at the door. '

Membership No.

"- Deposit
Reg. #
Mailed

# of packages

For office use only

Please send information on accommodation: hotel u university residence D

NAME; As you wisti it to appear on your badge

{H)

(B)

Area Code

Phone Number

Mailing address: Number, street, apt. no., etc.

City/Town/P.O.

Provmce/State Postal/Zip Code

Please provide further information if you require assistance H

'5)
w

Early Bird
(prior to April 15)

Regular
(April 15 -May 10)

Member S20.00
Non-member: Memberstiip $25,00 + Conference $20.00 = S45.00

Family members

X S10.00

Please copy this form and complete NAIVIE and program selection for eacti

fvlember $30.00
Non-member: Membership S25.00 + Conference $30.00 = $55.00

Family members

X SI 0.00

Please copy this form and complete NAME and program selection for each

'Touring package for spouses

Special Events

Saturday - Pay-as-you-go
Sunday $20,00

' Banquet (Saturday) Limited number

X $25,00

Family members only attending banquet do not need to pay S10 family-member fee

D Cheque/money order enclosed (payable to TPUG) D Visa/MasterCard # .
Expiry date Signature

. Iota! enclosed

.00

«

0)
CO

E
cs

w

p

Saturday, May 25

Choice

1st

A

9:30
10:30

B

11:00
12:00

C

12:30
1:30

D

2:00
3:00

E
3:00
4:30

Sunday, May 26

F
9:30
10:30

G

11:00
12:00

H

12:30
1:30

2:00
3:00

J

3:30
4:30

2nd

7:00 Reception/Cash Bar
8:00 "Banquet

Introduction to Machine Language 10:00-5:00 D
1st choice D 2nd choice D

Send registrations and payment to:
TPUG Conference '85
igi2A Avenue Road, Suite #1
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5M 4A1

'Ticket function

Cancellalions must be submitted in writing
and are subject to a $5 administration fee.

26 TPUG Magazine

FOURTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

for members of TPUG

Saturday and Sunday, May 25 and 26, 1985
9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

252 Bloor St. W. (Bloor & St. George)

ACTIVITIES: Two-day program of speakers covering topics of interest to beginners and experts

Full day session:
Sunday, May 26th

Introduction to Machine Language by Jim Butterfield

Half day sessions:
Saturday, May 25th

Introduction to C-64 Graphics by John Moore

Very Elementary Programming in BASIC by Lorenzo Pinazza

Introduction to C-64 Sprites by Carl Garant & John Moore

Sunday, May 26th

Commodore Data Bases Versus dBase III by Rob Lockwood

TPUG program library available on pre-copied disks at reasonable cost
Dealer displays of hardware, peripherals & software

"Traders' Corner" — one person's junk is another's treasure

"Answer Room" — 10 minute consultation with a Club expert

"Birds of a Feather" sessions for BBS SYSOPs, newsletter editors, member clubs

AMENITIES: Close to subway

Snack area for conference participants

Optional Club Banquet Saturday evening — $25 per person

Optional two-day Spouses program
Several major hotels in the immediate area

REGISTRATION: You must be a Club member to register

Regular member (attends meetings) $35 Can,

Student member (full-time, attends meetings) $25 Can.

Associate (Canada) $25 Can.

Associate (U.S.A.) $25 U.S.

Associate (Overseas— sea mail) $35 U.S.

Associate (Overseas—air mail) $45 U.S.

Early-bird registration $20.00, starts February 1, 1985
Pre-registration spouses & children $10.00 per person
Late registration after April 15, or at the door, $30.00

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CALL THE TPUG OFFICE DURING BUSINESS HOURS

416-782-9252, 416-782-8900

MA Y25 &26 — RESERVE THESE DATES ON YOUR CALENDAR NOW!

February 1985 27

TPUG Annual
Conference Speaker Information

Definitions Regarding Programming Skills

Beginner: Has succeeded in setting up his/her machine for operation. Knows how to load and run programs written by
other people. Can write a program to display his/her name on the screen. Has an interest in knowing more.

Intermediate: Can write programs which interact with the keyboard and screen. Has mastered the most commonly used
words in the BASIC language. Is confortable modifying BASIC programs ^vritten by other people.

Advanced: Has a good grasp of the entire BASIC language. Has succeeded in programming most of: sprites, SID, joysticks,
data files, POKE, printer. Probably can wTite some machine-language. Understands most POKEs on his/her machine.

Conference Speaker Schedule

Saturday: May 25, 1985

Series A: 9:30-10:30

A-l, B-1: Introduction to C-64 Graphics
(9:30-12:00)

Speaker: John Moore, educator, computer consultant,
member of Windsor PET Educators Group
Everything the beginner needs to get started with C-64
graphics: a brief examination of the graphics capabilities of
the C-64, starting with character sets, low-res graphics,
changing colours, screen poking, etc. How to turn on hi-res
graphics, and a brief examination of hi-res with BASIC. A
disk of public domain software will be explained and
distributed. A look at some commercial software packages
will also be included if time allows: e.g. Koala Pad, light
pens.
Level: Beginner

A-2: LOGO

Speaker: Laurie Fountain, Manager,

Educational Systems, Central Region,
Commodore Business Machines Ltd.
There's more to LOGO than turtle graphics. Come and ex-
plore the list-handling facility, music, and sprites. How to
use LOGO as a thinking tool.
Audience: All

A-3, B-3: Very Elementary Programming in BASIC
(9:30-12:00)

Speaker: Lorenzo Pinazza, teacher,

member of Windsor PET Educators Group
So you just bought a C-64 computer! Now what? Here are
some things a beginning beginner can do.
Level: Beginner

A-4: 1541 Disk Drive Techniques

Speaker: Gerry Neufeld, author

Uses for unclosed files; using two 1541 drives as drive

and drive 1.

Level: Intermediate

A-5: Raster Interrupts

Speaker: David Berezowski, Commodore software

expert, author of Satan's Hollow

(action game for C-Gi)
Advanced raster interrupt techniques and multi-sprite pro-
cessing/programming; attendees should be accomplished
machine language programmers who understand the work-
ing of the C-64 in some detail. Related to the material in
session B-5. Neither session is necessary to understand the
other but their subjects are intertwined.
Level: Advanced

A-6: Terminal Emulators & Bulletin Boards

Speaker: Tom Shevlin, former TPUG SYSOP.

student, sound consultant
Using terminal emulation programs to contact Bulletin
Boards and to sign on to mainframes; a review of some of
these telecommunications programs for the C-64, the PET
and the SuperPET,

Audience: All Repeat Session: I-l

A-7: Spreadsheets

Speaker: John Shepard, Handle Software Inc.
How to get more out of your spreadsheet program. Using
Calc Result, John will attempt to show the special tricks he
uses to make better use of his program.
Audience: All

Series B: 11:00-12:00

B-l: Introduction to C-64 Graphics
(9:30-12:00)

Continuation of Session A-l.
Level: Beginner

28 TPUG Magazine

B-2: Introduction to Commodore's New Microcomputers

Speaker: Liz Deal, well-knoiim & popular writer

Jim Butterfield. TPUG guru, author.
A dynamic duo introduces the C-16 and Plus/4, including' an
outline of their features and some programminfr informa-
tion. There will also be a brief outline of the newly-
announced C-128 computer.
Level: Intermediate

B-3: Very Elementary Programming in BASIC
{9:30- 12:00)

Continuation of Session A-3.
Level: Beginner

B-4: Relative Files

Speaker: Chris Bennett, TPUG Business Manager
Chris will describe how to write a program which creates,
reads and updates relative files, using a \^C 20 or C-64.
Level: Intermediate Repeat Session: G-1

B-5: Collision Detection

Speaker: David Berezowski. Commodore software

expert, author of Satan's Hollow

(action game for C-64)
Collision detection techniques for handling object interaction
(such as in games); these techniques apply to many different
situations. Emphasis is on speed of processing rather than
on resolution. Related to the material in Session A-5.
Neither session is necessary to understand the other, but
their subjects are intertwined.
Level: Advanced

B-6: Word Processing

Speaker: Donna Green, Commodore WP consultant

A look at some of the best word processors for the C-64.

Audience: Word Processing Beginners

B-7: Magic Software for the C-64

Speaker: Don Whitewood, supervisor of video &
m.icrocomputer testing & development.
Toronto School Board
It is difficult to describe this superb software — it is a
series of various types of editors for such functions as
animation, word processing, joystick control, etc. It is a
very powerful environment for creating educational or other
applications; it manages these editors.
Audience: All (particularly educators)

Series C: 12:30-1:30

C-l: C-64 Sound for Beginners

Speaker: Don Gray, computer enthu.'^ia.'it. teacher.

mejnber of Windsor PET Educators Group
So your C-64 has a SID chip. So what? Here are some
hints, suggestions and public domain programs for begin-
ners to get their machine going into the C-64 Sounds of
Music. Some commercial programs will also be shown.
Level: Beginner

C-2: Astronomy

Speaker: Dr. Frank Cointz

researcher, software developer
The Planetarium continued — Heavenly Bodies Part II — a
guided tour of the solar system; this is the second in the
series which began last year.
Audience: All Repeat Session: G-3

C-3: C-64 Library

Speakers: Richard & David Bradley

C-64 liln-arians and BBS SYSOPs

Favorite programs of the C-64 lii)rary; emphasis on

entertainment.

Audience; All Repeat Session: J-1

C-4: Effective Programming on the C-16 & Plus 4

Speakers: Liz Deal, well-known & popular writer
Jim Butterfield, TPUG guru, author.
Commodore eirperl. world traveller . . .

The new software features of these machines especially

graphics and sound.

Level; Intermediate

C-5: Microcomputer Hardware

Speaker: Peter Porno, professor. Univ. of Waterloo
Fundamental structure of a microcomputer - what the chips
do, what's under your keyboard. A veteran presenter of
Waterloo's Hardware and Interfacing Course, Peter will help
you come to grips with what happens inside your machine.
Audiejice: Hardiviire Beginner.',

C-6: Advanced File Handling

Speaker: Keith Falkner

technical consultant, hof/byist
Don't sort that file! - techniques associated with getting at
your data in the right order.
Level: Advanced

C-7: Introduction to COMAL

Speaker: Len Lindsay, author, consultant.

COMAL Users Group U.S.A.
An introduction to disk-loaded COMAL and its built-in
graphics for the C-B4.
Audience: All

Series D: 2:00-3:00

D-l: Telecommunications

Speaker: Gord Campbell, TPUG director, editor

of InfoAge and Computing Canada
Using communications to move files from computer to
computer.
Level: Intermediate

D-2. E-2: Introduction to C-64 Sprites
(2:00 — 4:30)

Speakers: Carl Garant, student

John Moore, educator, computer consultant.

member of Windsor PET Educators Group
This session will teach lieginners how' to create their first
sprite using BASIC. Building upon that, using more than
one sprite, multi-colored sprites, making siirites move; will
all be examined. Using a sprite editor will also be covered.
A disk of public domain sprite programs and editors will be
explained and distributed.
Level: Beginner/Intermediate

D-3: Computer Music

Speaker: Hal Chambe^iiii. author, president of MTU
Approaches to creating music with a microcomputer; how
computer music will be generated in the future.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced Repeat Session: H-2

D-4: Disk Handling for Beginners

Speaker: Dave Hook

one of TPUG 's professional amateurs
How to get started with the 1541 drive — Dave will cover
the same ground as he did in his series of articles which ap-
peared in TPUG Magazine.
Level: Beginners Repeat Session: F-2

February 1985 29

D-5: Operatirg Systems

Speaker: Paul Higginbottom

Commodore softv:are expert
Overview of UNIX and the C programming language.
Level; Intermediate/Advanced Repeat Session: F-1

D-6; C-64 Graphics and Hi-Res Screens
Speaker: David Neale

author of €-64 Star Trek, airline pilot
Using C-64 graphics, screen banking, and hi-res screens
created on a Koala Pad, and integi-ating these in your own
programs.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced Repeat Session: J-4

D-7: Machine Language: Pre-School

Speaker: Lou Sander, atdhor, speaker

If machine language is Chinese to you, consider attending

this session. Through humour and analogy, it illuminates the

central principles of ML programming — simple ideas,

foreign to natural thinking, which often befuddle beginners.

Master those principles here, and you're ready to tackle real

learning.

Level: Intermediate

Series E: 3:30-4:30

E-l: User Group Expectations

Speaker: Michael BoHnycastle, TPUG president

What to expect and what not to expect from a user group.

Audience: All

E-2: Introduction to C-64 Sprites

(2:00-4:30)

Continuation of Session D-2.

Level: Beginner

E-3: Writing About Computers

Speaker: Ellen Strasma

publisher of Midnight Gazette, author
How to write an article for publication. Some magazines
have so many articles submitted to them that they will not
consider any article which is not already almost perfect. An
experienced editor, Ellen will give you insight into writing
better articles.
Audience: All

E-4: Selected Topics for the B-128

Speakers: Liz Deal, xvell-knovm and popular writer

Jim Butter field, TPUG gum. author,
world traveller. Commodore expert —
Some software and general information for the B-128 will
be presented. A question and answer period will be
included.

Level: Intermediate
E-5: SYNTH
Speaker: George Fell, author of SYNTH.

computer science student
SYNTH is a music development system which gives you
very complete control over the C-64's sound-producing
capabilities; it is written by George — he will explain how it
functions and will present some of the music he has produc-
ed with it.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced Repeat Session: 1-2

E-6; TPUG Terminal Programs

Speakers: Richard & David Bradley

C-64 librarians & BBS SYSOPs
How to use different terminal programs from the TPUG
library; features of each and how to choose the right one
for your application.
Audience: All

E-7: Interfacing, Particularly with Videodisk

Speaker: Don Whitewood, supervisor of video &
microcomputer testing & development,
Toronto School Board
A demonstration of computer control of a Laserdisk and a
description of the interface used to do this; if time permits,
three parallel port interfaces for the PET, two of which
work with the C-64.
Audience: All

Sunday: May 26, 1985

Series F: 9:30-10:30

F-l: Repeat of Session D-5
F-2: Repeat of Session D-4
F-3: Menus and Program Chaining

Speaker: John Eastoyi, TPUG Westside co-ordinator,

photographer, computer enthusiast
How to set up good menu screens; how to load a program
from within another program; the session is based on his
series of articles in TPUG Magazine.
Level: Intermediate

F-4: A Comparison of Some Spreadsheets

Speaker: Dave Poiuell, author, software
reviewer for TPUG Magazine
A user talks about his experience with a number of spread-
sheets for the C-(J4. including Multiplan and Practicalc.
Audience: All

F-5: Commodore's 1541 User's Guide, 2nd Editon

Speaker: Jim Stra^ma

publisher of Midnight Gazette, author
If you've been reading the new revised 1541 manual and
have tried out the sample programs included on the disk,
and wanted to learn more about those techniques, here's
your opportunity. (Jim and Ellen Strasma are the co-
authors of this new reused edition.)
Audience: All

F-6; Come and Talk to Commodore
Speaker: Peter Baezor and Jim Gracely,

Cmnmodore (U.S.A.). plus a representative of Com-
modore (Canada).
Here is your opportunity to hear what Commodore is doing
and also to ask Commodore representatives your questions.
Audience: All

Series G: 11:00-12:00

G-l: Repeat of Session B-4
G-2: Introduction to Data Bases

Speaker: Roger Marsh, t earlier

How to conceptualize, plan and use a simple data base;

Roger will use a program from the TPUG library to set up

and demonstate data base-s.

Audience: Data Base Beginners

G-3: Repeat of Session C-2

G-4: Two Structured Languages for the C-64

Speaker: David Boswell. .software researcher,
author of many books on computer science
PASCAL is an important language in the mainstream of
computer science education. Structured BASIC was
developed so that BASIC could be effectively used in
teaching computer science. Interpreters for these two
languages have been developed in carti-idge form for the
C-64 by Watcom Products, a company intimately associated

30 TPUG Magazine

with the University of Waterloo. The session will concentrate
on PASCAL and will include its extensions, which handle
sprites, sound and colour.
Level: Intermediate

G-5: Moving Up to a New Computer

Speaker: Hal Chfimherlin, autlxn; pretfideni of MTU
What to consider when moving to a new computer: trade-offs
in graphics systems and graphics monitors; word processing
considerations; alternative display technologies — LCD,
plasma, raster versus vector.
Audience: All

G-6: The Computer — an Educational Tool

Speaker: fl repcesentat i ve of COHPU*TECH Education
Services, developers and publishers of
educational software and textbooks

Using a personal computer as an effective
educational tool. Discussion will give a practical
approach to making the computer the most valuable
educational tool in the home.

Series H: 12:30-1:30

H-l: Beginning Word Processing

Speaker: Don Gray, computer enthusiast, teaciier,

member ofWind.,<ior PET Educators Group
A brief look at some printers and word processors so that
beginners might get an idea about what to look for before they
go out and buy. Find out just what a word processor does.
Audience: Word Processing Beginners

H-2: Repeat of Session D-3

H-3: User Port Hardware and Accessories

Speaker: Keith Falkner

technical consultant, hobbyist
A variety of interfaces based on the user port — all of these
you can build yourself.
Level: Intermediate

H-4: 1541 Disk Drive Software

Speaker: Gerry Neufeld, author

Working the 1541 job queue and the ROMs; putting Machine

Language into the drive, executing it, and accessing the ROM

routines.

Level: Advanced

H-5, 1-5: Commodore Data Bases Versus dBase III
(12:30 — 3:00)
Speaker: Roh Lockwood

Manager of market reseurch and. analyaw
What you can and can't do with data bases and why; how to
enlarge your spreadsheet capabilities with data bases; Om-
nifile, the Manager and the Consultant compared with dBase
in. Members are encouraged to bring along manuals of the
data bases they are using and to contribute to a group discus-
sion on data base techniques.
Level: Intermediate/ Advanced

H-6: Robotics

Speaker: Jack Becker, creator of Randy the robot

Meet Randy's .successor, and hear about his future. Randy can

transmit a picture to your TV or audio up to 100 miles

(wireless).

Audience: All

Series I: 2:00-3:00

I-l: Repeat of Session A-G
1-2: Repeat of Session E-5

1-3: OS-9 Operating System

Speakers: Gerry Gold &Avy Moise
co-developers of OS/9 for the SuperPET
This well-developed modular operating system has been
established for a long time on a number of other machines.
Now available for the SuperPET, it makes a wealth of soft-
ware and new capabilities available to SuperPET users.
Audience: All

1-4: TPUG Utilities for the C-64

Speaker: Dave Honk

one of TPUG 's professional amateurs
My favorite utilities — how they help me to program more
effectively.
Level: Beginner/Intermediate

1-5: Commodore Data Bases Versus dBase III

Continuation of Session H-n.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced

1-6: COMAL

Speaker: Len Lindsay, author, consultant,

COMAL Users Group, U.S.A.
An introduction to cartridge-based COMAL which will include
some of its more interesting features such as the TRACE and
CHANGE commands, protected input screens, function keys
and batch files.
Level: Intermediate/ Advanced

Series J: 3:30-4:30

J-l: Repeat of Session C-3

J-2: How To Become Rich and Famous
by Writing About Computers

Speaker: Lou Sander, author, .•speaker
Louis F. Sander tells all! How magazine writing took him,
overnight, from obscurity to wealth and renown (or at least to
less obscurity). How YOU can get there too, through the
power of your pen (or keyboard). Every step will be revealed,
including financial details. Questions and answers will follow.
Audience: All

J-3: An RS-232 for the VIC 20 and C-64

Speaker: Keith Falkner

technical consultant, hobbyist
Make an I/O accessory to talk to printers, modems, and other
computers. An easy first project for people to learn their way
around a soldering iron and/or the keyboard.
Level: Intermediate

J-4: Repeat of Session D-6

J-5: The Computing Business

Speakers: ,Ii-m Strasma

publisher of Midnight Gazette, author
Louise Redgers, TPUG advertising director

How to run a small business in your home — Jim has run a

number of ventures from his home using different computers.

Near the end of the session a group discussion about members'

experiences and problems will be encouraged. Louise will add

a Canadian perspective to the topic.

Audience: AH

February 1985 31

J-6: Text Formatting

Speaker: Bill Dxdfieid. SuperPET librarian
This session will pro\ide an insight into text formatters. It will
discuss their place in the world of electronic text composition
tools, comparing them to editors and word processors. In par-
ticular, the use of the SuperPET text formatter "finish" will
be described.

Audience: advanced users of text manipulation

All Day Session: Sunday, 9:30-4:30

Topic: An Introduction to Machine Language

Speaker: Jim Butterfield, the Prime Commodorian

The presentation will parallel part of Jim's book — Machine

Language for the Commodore 64 and other Commodore

computers.

Level: Intermediate

Note: speakers and times s^d)ject to change without notice

Other Attractions

Conference Banquet

Saturday. May 25, 1985— 8:00p.m.

Mix with the Speakers, Conference Committee, TPUG

Executive and members from near and far. Come along and

have a bit of fun.

Cost: $25 per person, pre-registration only

(cash bar)

Spouses Program

Saturday — tour of Toronto

A tour of Toronto by public transportation visiting well-known
spots such as the Eaton Centre, City Hall, First Canadian
Place and the CN Tower.
Pay as you go.

Sunday — visit McMichael Canadian Collection
With the focus on the Group of Seven, the collection displays
many of their paintings along with works by their contem-
poraries — Emily Carr, David Milne and others.
Cost: $20 per person— includes transportation and admis-
sion — food and souvenirs extra.

SUPERPET OWNERS:
OS/9 IS HERE

TPUG has implemented the popular 6809 operating system
'OS/9' on the SuperPET. Super-OS/9 greatly expands
software availability and the hardware capabilities of this
computer while at the same time preserving access to the
Waterloo languages and programs.
The cost of Super-OS/9 to club members will be $195
(Cdn.), which will include the cost of a hardware
modification that will not affect the normal operation of the
SuperPET. Two board SuperPETs require a simple
hardware modification — we provide instructions. To obtain
your copy please send $195 (Cdn.) to: TPUG (1912A
Avenue Rd., Suite 1, Toronto, Ont., M5M 4A1, Canada).

What does Super-OS/9 offer?

• A true operating system: with UNIX features and the
simplicity and command style of Commodore BASIC;

• Multi-tasking and multi-user environment;

• Multi-level directories similar to those available in MS DOS
2.O.;

• Time and date stamp for all directory entries (files);

• File access privileges may be restricted by the owner of
a file.

Extensive software is available for OS/9, most of which will
run on the SuperPET.

The Super-OS/9 package includes an assembler, editor,

command (shell) library monitor, symbolic debugger and

25K RAM Disk.

Available Languages (compilers) include BASIC-09, Pascal,

CIS-COBOL, 'C Language, and others.

Available Applications Programs: Word processors,

business, inventory and accounting applications.

Public Domain: Software, relational database and

spreadsheets, extensive public domain software and

documentation.

TPUG will acquire public domain software and assist users

in the conversion of commercial software to Commodore

format.

Portability and Expandability

• Super-OS/9 programs will run on all OS/9-based
microcomputers.

• Super-OS/9 will run hard disks and parallel drives.

• There will be source code compatibility to versions of
OS/9 that are planned for the Motorola 68000.

For information caii TPUG Inc. (416)782-8900

(416)782-9252

For technical information

Gerry Gold (416) 667-3159/225-8760

Avy Moise (416) 667-3954/667-9898

32 TPUG Magazine

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Group Record Forms and Indexes. Easy editing and
sorts.

$49 95 U.S. or $59.95 Cdn.

PET-I-GREE

Recordkeeping system for the Dog Breeder and
Kennel Operator. Individual dog records, breeding
records, show records and pedigree charts can be
produced. Easily altered for other animals.

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Foolproof Your 4040 Disk Drive

by John Vanderkooy

The 4040 dual disk drive is very popular, and gives reliable opera-
tion, relative to some of the other Commodore drives. One area
in which it is less than perfect is its 'turn on' and 'turn off
characteristic, when dislts are loaded. The disks can be clobbered,
as many of you know. I describe below a hardware modifica-
tion that makes the unit foolproof when the power is applied
or removed with the disks in place.

The main problem is related to the +5 volt power supply,
which collapses quickly on power-down. The possibility of cur-
rent flow in the heads is not locked out at this time, as the logic
unit's brain is starved of oxygen from the 5 volt supply. My 'fix'
is to sense the imminent demise of the 5 volt supply by detec-
ting when the unregulated supply voltage, normally 9 volts,
drops below about 7 volts; then making sure there can be no
head current by preventing the head select transistors from
turning on with a relay.

My circuit (Figure I) uses the unregulated inputs for the -i- 12
and -1-5 volt supphes (which measure about 18 and 9 volts
respectively) to drive the relay. Both these supplies turn on
quickly, but the -i- 9 volt supply turns off much quicker than the
+ IS volt supply. A 12 volt relay with DPDT contacts is used
to ground the head selects. At power-on, the 18 and 9 volt sup-
plies rise quickly, but the 100k resistor and 47 microfarad
capacitor give about 2.5 seconds before the Darlington transistor
pair turns on the relay, because there is a 6.5 volt Zener in series
with the transistor emitters. By this time, the 4040 has powered
up sufficiently to prevent any unwanted write current in the
heads. When the mains switch is turned off after a session, the
9 volt unregulated supply dies quickly. \¥hen it reaches about
7 volts, the 1N4148 diode D2 discharges the 47 microfarad
capacitor sufficiently to shut off the relay, just before the 5 volt
regulated supply has any tendency to fall.

To find the connections that the extra circuit is wired to, note
that the head selects are pins 2 and 12 on the connector for the
ribbon cable (P2 on the main logic board) that goes to disk drive

. . . The main problem is related to the

+ 5 volt power supply, which collapses

quickly on power-down . . .

unit #1. The ground connections are pins 1 and 11. All the
necessary connections are made to the bottom of the main logic
board. A meter will help you locate proper points near the diodes
of the power supplies. I soldered the connections to the various
points and mounted a small card edge connector to plug in my
circuit. This keeps things neat and allows you to test the system
easily.

As a final point, there is nothing you can do to prevent damage
to a disk if the power is switched off while writing to a disk.
I thought of using a relay driven from the activity light to short
the mains switch, but CSA would have a fit!

(Caution: Users should be familiar with electronics, coTistruc-
tion and testing before undertaking the kind of hardware
modification described in this article, which might void warranty
and/or affect the future serviceability of the unit). D

CIRCUIT TO PREVENT DISK CRASHES

HDSEL 1^

18 volt

pin 12

HDSEL 1

pia 2

GND

12 volt
relay

-BOmA I

pin 1
pis 11

-\

IN4148

Dl

unreeulated
(upply

2NS904

'^

lOCK

IN4143

I- ►!

relay is shewn
ID unenergized
position

Ari2>3904
' 2N697

W

9 Tolt

Tjn unregulated
supply

4

'6.6 volts

400mW

ZENER

47 ^F
: 3BV

GND

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Prints the new timetable.

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34 TPUG Magazine

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Candidates for this position must be
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Toronto, Ontario M5M 4A1

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loystlck. Monitor and Sound
CUp operating correctly?

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4.) Screen alignment and

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PRO-LINI

755 The Oueensway East, Unit 3, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L4Y 4C5 . Phone 41B-E73-B35G

Plus/4 and C-16: Disappointingly Mediocre

by Terry Traub

After reading Elizabeth Deal's article
about the new Plu3/4 and 16 computers
in the November issue, I feel compelled
to raise a few issues that she did not ad-
dress. While the powerful Basic 3.5 im-
plemented in both computers is admitted-
ly an improvement ovti uie viu zu and
C-64, I see very little else to commend
them.

To begin with, the C-16 is obviously not
a serious contender in the home market:
it is not expandable and has no port for
a modem. As a result, it fails to 'replace'
the VIC, which is after all an expandable
and versatile machine. Most people who
buy low-end computers take comfort in
the knowledge that their computers can
grow with them. A VIC owner, when ask-
ed that dread question, "So, you got a
computer? WTiat're you gonna do with
it?" can confidently reply: "Telecom-
municate. Expand the memory and word
process."

Unfortunately, the marketing 'experts'
at Commodore failed to understand that
the reason the VIC was so successful is
that once the home user has worked
through the 'toy/learning tool' phase of
computing, he or she is ready for more
sophisticated applications requiring a ver-
satile machine. I suspect that there are

going to be an awful lot of dusty C-16's
lying around in closets six months after
Christmas.

The Plus/4, on the other hand, is touted
by Commodore as a 'productivity
machine', implying that it is somehow
more useful than the C-64 or the Atari
800XL, the other logical choices in its
price range. Since the 'producti\ity' of
any computer must inevitably be
measured by its software, the critical
spotlight is eventually brought to bear on
the bundled software that comes with the
Plus/4. The word processor is the most
important non-recreational software us-
ed in the home, but the one that comes
with the Plus/4 is disappointing even as
inexpensive word processors go. Only 37
columns per line are visible, and you can
only get full (77 character) lines by
horizontal scrolling. I hate horizontal
scrolling; 1 like to see what I'm writing,
not 'seek' it. Horizontal scrolling is the
kind of drudgery that should have disap-
peared with the invention of cars and
washing machines. The Plus/4's small
spreadsheet is inadequate for all but the
most rudimentary uses, such as graphing
one's ice-cream consumption over a three
month period. The database looks okay,
but on balance I would say that those who
truly wish to use their computers as 'pro-

ductivity' machines would be well advis-
ed to get better software. Again, Com-
modore's mistake is in failing to unders-
tand that most people will quickly
outgrow the built-in software.

As for the Flus/4 as a programming
computer, its main innovation, aside from
the built-in machine language monitor
and the nice Basic, is the bank-switching
method which provides about 60K of
Basic workspace. That's all very well, but
the longest program I have in Basic is
about 23K, and that's loooooong; it takes
up ninety blocks of disk space, or ten
minutes on cassette. Those who write
progi-ams in Basic longer than that might
benefit from the Plus/4, certainly; for the
rest of us there is no particular advan-
tage. I need hardly mention the loss of
the 64' s sprite graphics and excellent
three voice synthesizer, replaced in the
Plus/4 and 16 alike by a paltry two voice
tone generator.

I see the Plus/4 as an insult and a disap-
pointment, as well as a major marketing
error. One would hope that Commodore
will soon come to their senses and put out
a '64/Plus' with such selling features as
128K of memory, 80 column display op-
tion, a better disk drive, and most impor-
tantly, complete compatibility with C-64
software and hardware.

An 80-column Board for Ye Olde Pette

by Tom G. Bartoffy

A friend of mine recently had an
80-column board installed in his Fat
Forty. While he was extolling its new-
found virtues, I was struck by something
that could only be called jealousy: here I
was with my old fashioned PET 2001, still
using WordPro 3 + , stumbling along
with a 40-column monitor and a
60-column printout.

The ob\dous course of action was to get
in touch with Comspec, here in Toronto,
who performed this trick of electronic
wizardry, and see if they would upgrade
my PE'T. Alas, there is apparently too
much difference in the video controllers
for a simple adaptation, and they have not
yet devoted any R&D time to develop-
ing a new one for us 'old timers'.

However, there may yet be an answer!
I was informed that if sufficient interest

was expressed among the PET owners —
coupled with a willingness to part with
somewhere around a hundred-and-fifty or
two hundred dollars, Comspec would be
more than willing to expend the effort.

It would obviously be premature to
describe the final 80-column board, but
if it is like the one for the Fat Forty, it
will have to be wired-in by Comspec, and
will consist of several ICs and probably
a couple of extra circuit boards. As on the
Fat Forty, an external toggle switch
should enable the user to select 40 or 80
columns. This gives the best of two
worlds: 40 columns for the graphics and
games modes, and 80 columns for word
processing and spread sheets.

Now for the 64 thousand (or is it 32K)
dollar question. Who cares?

If you are among the earlier TPUG
members who owm a PET and find it dif-

ficult to justifj' the ex-pense of another (or
a new) computer, and you feel that this
is just the thing you need, please send me
a short letter stating your interest, the
BASIC version you have, and the amount
you would feel comfortable in paying for
the modification when it becomes
available. There is obviously no obligation
to buy at any time.

The address to send it to is: 97 Regina
Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6A 1R5.

The responses will be collated and
presented to Comspec, Letters and
names will be kept in strict confidence
and under no circumstances be released
to Comspec or anyone else.

In order to expedite this survey, please
send your responses as quickly as poss-
ible. I expect to present my findings to
Comspec six weeks after you receive this
magazine. D

36 TPUG Magazine

General Purpose SAVE/LOAD

by Kevin Boartknan

Tliis routine for the C-64, with either tape
or disk, uses KejTial routines to SAVE or
LOAD any block of memory. By using the
relocation option, programs or data can
be LOADed to any address in memory,

regardless of where they were saved
from. Simple prompts make the routine
very easy to use. It is presented here with
one statement per line for the sake of
clarity, but it could easily be 'crunched'

into a small subroutine, for use in your
programs. Because it uses Kerna!
routines, it could easily be converted to
work on the VIC 20, as well as the
PET/CBM machines and SuperPET. □

9994 rem **********#***#************ 10268

9995 rem .** memory save/ load ** 10278

9996 rem ** m. 1 c-64 ** 10280
999? rem ** by U.B'-.'in boardman ** 10290
999S rem .** July 15., 1984 ##

9999 rem *******♦***.*******.***#***** lesee

1 0000 a.=7S0 : x=7S 1 : y=732 : n=49 1 52 : 1 03 1

■:^=n:^-■:=251 10320

10010 prin-t"aijS3ad or Se^ms" 10.330

10020 ■3e-ta*:i-fa*=" 1." then 10059 10340

10030 i-f B^<y"s" then 10620 10350

10040 go-to 10120 10360

10050 irtpufre located lo.ad-Sfc-'fl<rspare> 10370

or 3na".;r-* 10330

10060 i-i^r-t~"y" then r=0;3oto 19080 10390

10070 r=255 10400

100S0 gosub 10160 10410

10090 gosub 10230 10420

10100 gosub 10510 10430

10110 end 10440

10120 -aosub 10160 10450

10130 gosub 10230 10460

10148 gosub 10419 10470

10150 end 1043©

10160 rem setlts 10490

10170 inpufenter device *: ";dM 18580

10180 fJoke a., 1 :poke x^dv sjcoke y^r 10518

10190 sys 65466 10528

10200 return 10538

18210 : 18540

18220 : 10550

10230 rem setn.=jft 10568

10240 i-f a*=" 1" and r<>0 then 18288 18578

10250 inrcufenter start address: ":sb 60890

it a*="I" then 18280
input "enter end address; ";se
inpuf'enter -f i le name: ";nm*
it lenCnmt.^MS or len<nm*Xl

then 10230
tor c=l to len';nm*.j
P'oke ci^=-scCmid^<.nmS,Cr 1 > >
d=d+l
next c

poke a., leninrfrf "1
poke x.,n-<int''n,''256^*256>
polce y ,r i nt ':.'n/256 >
■sys 65469
return

rem sa'.'e

poke k ., sfo- < i nt < sb/256 > *256 >

poke k+1 ., int';sb.-'256>

poke a., k

poke X ., se~ < i nt < se/25S > *256 >
poke y.r int<:se,''256;j
sys 65496
return

rem loajd

poke a,0

i-P rO-0 then 10568

poke X , sb- C i nt < sb/256 ;> *256 >

poke y ., i nt ■:: sb/256 >

sys 6-5493

return

open 1 ., Q , 1 5 : i npi.jt* 1 , a., bt : pr i ntb*

A Life Saver For 1541 Users

Contributed by Mike Norman

To stop the disk's head from 'break-dancing' when loading in software with disk protection:

OPEN 15.,8,15

PRINT#1.5.. "N-W ;CHR*< 106>CHR*<0>CHR*< 1 >CHR*< 133>

CLOSE 15

February 1985 37

New 64 Book Clear But Not Deep

by Elizabeth Deal

Commodore 64
Sight and Sound

by John Anderson

Creative Computing Press
136 pages

This book is about Commodore 64
graphics and sound. It is in two parts —
one for standard BASIC, and the other
for Simons ' BASIC, a popular cartridge-
based package that provides 114 addi-
tional BASIC commands.

The tirst half of the book presents very
simple graphic programs in BASIC. Lots
of illustrations are provided, in addition
to the cute little programs. The
characters the reader must type are clear.

Simple BASIC statements, such as IF,
THEN, GOTO, PRINT, POKE, FOR and
NEXT, are used and explained, with
PRINT carrying the burden of the work.
Simple animation routines should get you
started in the video game craze.
Numerous typing aids are provided, the
screen editor is explained nicely, and
many of the control characters are il-
lustrated in a clear manner.

There is a variety of sound-using pro-
grams, providing eleven sound effects in
all. The programs are short, clear and
easy to type in, so you can start at once
building your repertoire of beeps and
other sounds.

The second half of the book deals with
high-resolution graphics and sound as us-
ed from Simons' BASIC. Since I don't
have Simons ' BASIC, what follows is just
a short presentation of paints I find worth
commenting on.

There is no index, which makes it dif-
ficult to find things. For instance, while
discussing the RENUMBER command in
Simons' BASIC, the author says that it
cannot RENUMBER the target lines of
GOTO and GOSUB; and that "later on in
Simom' BASIC we will build procedures
and learn how they can be userf instead
of GOTO and GOSUB commands ..."
Well, neither the index nor the table of
contents gave me any clues about the pro-

cedures. I read the whole book and stil!
didn't find them.

The screen-saving program in the
regular BASIC section is probably all
right, but looks rather odd. Some ten
thousand bytes are saved, even though
the screen and colour memory only need
two thousand.

The author has a habit of omitting the
loop indices. The Commodore documen-
tation does the same thing. I think a
tutorial book should show a clearer link
between a FOR and its NEXT.

Some descriptions of the keyboard
characters or modes are strange (Apple-
talk?). For instance, the author refers to
the normal, usual Commodore keyboard
graphics as 'special characters'. Then we
have the 'inverse bracket': it took me a
while to see that the 'inverse bracket' is
the cursor- right character. Similarly, the
reverse-mode characters are often called
'inverse' mode. This is acceptable — you
can call them what you want — but it is
rather strange on a Commodore
computer.

Early in the book is a chapter on how
to handle a disk drive. Once again, there
are some strange semantics: turning
power on to the disk is confused with in-
itializing it. Tlie author states that the red
light indicates that the drive is spinning
(sometimes true, sometimes not!). The
disk ID must be a "two-digit number . . .

00-99" — not quite true. CLOSE 15
closes a file that you "opened with the
FORMAT command" — again almost,
but not quite, correct.

Another rather dangerous suggestion
in the same chapter: "To load a program
. . . make sure that the disk in the drive
has been formatted and that it contains
the program you want to load". I think
beginners should stay away from this sec-
tion. It could cause misunderstandings
that might damage good disks.

A welcome section discusses the Wedge
commands. I found one little problem: the
RENAME is missing. The C is used for
RENAMEing (that's fine) but the book
doesn't mention C's normal use as COPY.

I do not like the tone of the intro-
duction. The author makes statements
such as: "your machine is lacking in
documentation", "documentation accom-
panying the machine (is) extremely lack-
ing", "documentation with Simons'
BASIC is as shaky as ani,1:hing we've seen
from Commodore", and so on. This is
1985. If this book had been written about
the PET in 1979/80, 1 would have agreed.
But we now have the User's Guide, which
contains a lot of useful material; and also
the Programmer's Reference Guide,
which, vvhile terse and rough to read in
places, is mostly correct. This book ac-
tually adds little beyond what is in the
U.ier's Guide. D

Jim Butterfield's

VAltNTiNE's Day

PRoqRAMiviiNq

Contest

Write a Valentine program that as/cs the user for his or her sweetheart 's
name, then clears the screen and prints a heart with that name within it.

The name may be up to ten characters long. Hard copy output is not
7iecessa7-y, but can be provided, if desired.

Siibmission details tvill be given in next month's issue of TPUG Magazine.
The winner will be announced during the TPUG 1985 Confereyice Banquet,
so get started today!

38 TPUG Magazine

Reviews.

The Home
Computer Wars

by Michael S. Tomczyk

Compute! Publications inc,

301 pages

$9.95 U.S. (paperback)

$16.95 U.S. {hardcover}

As one of the old-time PET users, Com-
modore has always interested and
sometimes confused me. Unlike many of
the microcomputer manufacturers, Com-
modore was run by one man — Jack
Tramiel. In the late 1950s, Tramiel
started a typewriter parts company in
Toronto. From this modest beginning, he
built Commodore Business Machines,
now the leading manufacturer of home
computers.

Michael Tomczyk, the author of The
Home Computer Wars, joined Com-
modore in 1979 as an assistant to
Tramiel. Over the next five years, he was
at the centre of Commodore's rise to the
top of the consumer computer market. In
the process, Commodore wiped out Texas
Instruments and Atari and, according to
Tomczyk, helped keep the Japanese out
of the North American Market. The Home
Computer Wars is more than a descrip-
tion of one man's success: it also offers
insight into the highly -competitive and
aggressive corporate battlefield.

I have met many of the people mention-
ed in the book, including Tomczyk himself
and Jack Tramiel. The book's account of
these people generally corroborates both
my own impressions and the many com-
ments I have heard from Commodore
employees. The book also illuminates a lot
of rumours about happenings at Com-
modore. It gives reasons why many ex-
ecutives didn't last long, and also shows
the kind of thinking behind product and
marketing decisions.

When Commodore first brought out the
VIC 20, for example, many people in the
company did not beheve it was a viable
product and were pushing for their own
conception of a colour computer in the
600 to 1000 dollar (U.S.) price range.
Tramiel's view was that the public
wanted a computer for under 300 dollars,
whether they knew it or not. The
Japanese, at that time, were getting
ready to hit the North American market
with their own 600 dollar home com-

puters. The VIC 20, Tomczyk maintains,
made them stop and think. They still
aren't here, although the MSX machines
may change that later this year.

While this book offers insight into many
happenings at Commodore, it does not
address many of the serious problems
that have occurred over the years. For
example, there is a brief mention about
the shortage of 1541 disk drives, but no
clarification of the poor quality control
and design shortcomings associated with
them. Another serious complaint address-
ed only briefly is the way Commodore
treated their dealers when the VIC 20
and Commodore 64 were put on the mass
market.

Although one may not agree with the
way Commodore went about their
business (unless one owned stock) the
results are admittedly impressive. Now
that Jack Tramiel has bought out Atari,
the next few years will be very -in-
teresting. As of this writing, Commodore
and Atari are embroiled in two lawsuits:

. . .Although one may

not agree with the way

Commodore went

about their business

the results are

impressive ...

one over Commodore's Amiga purchase
(Commodore's involvement in that suit is
indirect), and the other over charges that
ex-Commodore employees stole secrets
about the UNIX machine when they mov-
ed to Atari. The Amiga computer is an
80 column colour machine to which Com-
modore acquired the rights several
months ago. If preliminary reports are
correct, it would be reasonable to think
of the Amiga as a souped-up Macintosh,
with colour. The UNIX computer is a
multi-user machine that Commodore
hopes will be their next true business
machine. It uses a 16-bit processor (the
ZILOG 8000), and should be very
powerful.

This book may help you to comprehend
some of the things that Tramiel does in
the months to come. It is one publication
you won't want to miss if you are in-
terested in the continuing saga of the
Home Computer Wars

Reviewed by Chris Bennett

6502 Assembly

Language

Subroutines

by Lance A. Leventha!

and Winthrop Saville

Osborne/McGraw-Hill

630 Bancroft Way

Berkeley, CA 94710

ISBN 0-931988-59-4

550 pages.

-Whether you do a lot of work in assembly
language, or are just getting started, this
book is for you. S502 Assernbly Language
Subroutines was designed for just about
anyone, at any level of expertise.

This book is intended as a source or
reference for the assembly language pro-
grammer. It contains sixty-seven
subroutines in eight categories to handle
common assembly language tasks.
Among the areas covered are code con-
version, arithmetic, array manipulation
and indexing, and string manipulation.
The subroutines are provided in a stan-
dard format. The input and output phases
of each are individually detailed, with
complete descriptions of how each
operates. Sample executions are includ-
ed so the reader will be able to get a full
understanding of the system (always im-
portant if you need to adapt a routine to
the main program you're working with).

In each subroutine there is also a
separate section listing registers used, ex-
ecution time, program size, data memory
required, special cases, entry/exit condi-
tions and examples,

The book opens with several chapters
of information I wish I had had when I
first got into assembly language. The sec-
tion on 'Common Programming Errors'
points out potential trouble spots and
areas of confusion. It also provides the
beginner with a starting point in the dif-
ficult process of locating and correcting
errors. One or two minutes in this section
alone can save hours of work trying to
debug a system.

As with almost all other books dealing
with assembly language, there is a sec-
tion on addressing modes. This book,
how'ever, breaks the common barrier and
gives a detailed explanation of how each
addressing mode works. When it comes
to some of the more complex modes, a

February 1985 39

comiJlete breakdown is provided and
careful description follows. After just
skimming through this section, I felt that
all the other books I had previously
bought told only a small part of the story
on addressing modes.

The really outstanding feature of the
book is the way the authors have arrang-
ed the information. Each page is laid out
practically, with an ample supply of white
space for notes or comments; very easy-
to-read print and large, self-explanatory
headings. The eight-page index is one of
the best I've seen for a book of this size.
With almost each main topic sub-
sectioned, it is not difficult to find the ex-
act information you're after. That, in
itself, is a real time-saver.

A drawback for Commodore users is
the way the authors deal with input/out-
put and interrupt service routines.
Almost all of these were written for the
Apple II computer. The authors acknow-
ledge this, and have tried to make each
routine as general as possible but, since
these two areas are very computer-
dependent, generalization is difficult.

One other point that bothered me about
each subroutine is the way each is
entered: by saving the return address. In
almost all cases, the routine can be call-
ed by using a Jump-to-Sub Routine com-
mand (JSR), in which the return ad-
dresses are automatically handled for
you. Storing the return address only
seems to complicate a simple subroutine.
However, 6502 AsseTfihly Language
Subroutines is without doubt the best
reference book on this subject I've ever
come across. It can save any reader time
and a lot of effort because there is no
longer any need to write, debug, test or
alter standard routines. And, as previous-
ly mentioned, beginners will find a host
of information that will boost them into
the high-speed world of assembly
language.

Review by Dave Neale

Studio 64

from Entech

Music software for Commodore 64
and disk drive.

Studio 64 provides a reasonably flexible
and relatively painless way of composing
music on your Commodore 64. Although
I can't accept Entech's claim that "...
you can create music as expressive and
sophisticated as the most advanced syn-
thesizers ... ", I have heard only one

music editor program that could do that,
and it is not yet commercially available.

Studio 64 presents you with a musical
staff and, as the music plays, the notes
are scrolled across it. Only eight notes are
displayed at a time, and only one voice.
Sharps and flats are indicated, as is the
waveform being used on each note. The
octave number of the current note is
shown at the top of the display. One can
use the cursor controi keys to scroll back
and forth to different parts of the score.

The score editor allows you to insert
and delete individual notes quite effici-

The resources of the
Commodore 64's syn-
thesizer chip have yet
to be fully utilized by a
commercial program...

ently. Also, you can easily insert a block
of music into the middle of the score, or
tack it on to the end. This can be a big
help when you want a repetitive bass or
percussion line.

The packaging says that all three voices
can be seen at once. What it doesn't say
is that this can only be done when the
music isn't playing, and then only one
note per voice at a time.

A unique feature of Studio 64 is that
one can easily assign a different
waveform to each note. This is helpful in
bringing variety and 'punch' to the music
you create. The documentation claims
you can even have more than one
waveform for each note. That it can do
this is demonstrated in the enjoyable
songs that come with the program. The
problem here is that, although the hand-
book is admirably lucid in other respects,
it neglects to tell you how to do this!

Studio 64 will let you design your own
sounds by enabling you to choose the
waveform used, as previously mentioned;
and by giving you control of the ADSR
envelope generators and the filters. It
won't let you use the synchronization or
ring modulation features of the SID chip,
nor does it let you use the third voice's
oscillator and envelope outputs to
modulate the other two voices. Musical-
ly, this means that you can't create
vibrato, tremolo, or real-time changes in
timbre.

A more serious limitation is that you
can't slur one note into the next. Other
programs, such as MusiCalc and Music
Construction Set {though not Master
Composer), do permit this. It can make
a real difference in the listenability of
your music, and ultimately the t^^pe of

songs you can successfully transcribe to
the Commodore 64.

Studio 64 can be played in real time.
You can play notes by pressing keys on
the second two rows on the keyboard. Un-
fortunately, the note doesn't stop when
you take your finger off the key: you have
to hit the space-bar to shut it off. \\T:at
you play is posted on the musical staff on
your screen as you play it. However, the
program cannot display notes longer than
a whole note (four beats), although it will
play them back.

Entech also says it has optional pro-
grams available that will let you add your
compositions to other programs; print
lead sheets complete with lyrics, chords
and full musical notation; and a talking
version of Studio 64 that tells you what
notes you are playing as you play them.

The resources of the Commodore 64's
Sound Interface Device synthesizer chip
have yet to be fully utilized by a commer-
cial program. Studio 64 does not even
come close to doing that. What it does,
it does fairly well. But there are other
programs out there, notably Master
Composer, that will give you more for
your money for most applications.

Review by Tim Grantham

KMMM Pascal
from CGRS Microtecfi

Implementation of \he Pascal
language for Commodore

KMMM Pascal is a nearly complete im-
plementation of both standard Jensen-
Wirth Pascal and the more popular
UCSD Pascal, with enhancements. It is
perhaps the most complete version of
Pascal yet available for Commodore com-
puters, including the PET/CBM and C-64.
It is also the only Commodore Pascal that
I know of which is a true compiler: it
generates true machine code from a
Pascal source file. Other implementations
have an interpreter that reads each com-
mand and then processes it. This allows
KMMM Pascal, in benchmark tests, to be
the fastest version of Pascal available for
the Commodore series.

Although earlier versions of KMMM
Pascal (versions I-III) were subsets of
standard and UCSD Pascal, the most re-
cent release, version IV. 5, is virtually
complete. It lacks the labelling capabili-
ty of standard Pascal, which allows line
numbers to be used, but since most ex-
perts argue against the use of line

40 TPUG Magazine

numbers in Pascal, this is a minimal
deficiency.

KMMM Pascal requires at least 24K of
free RAM. Although cassette can be us-
ed for saving and loading small Pascal
source files, KMMM Pascal is supplied on
disk. Therefore at least one disk drive is
required. Additionally, the programs
which make up KMMM Pascal (editor,
compiler, translator) are compatible with
Commodore BASIC. This means that
they can be loaded as a normal BASIC
program, and started with the RUN com-
mand, even though they are written in
machine language. Likewise, compiled
and translated Pascal programs may be
executed in the same manner. This adds
to the ease of using this package.

The disk that comes with the package
contains a boot program. This allows
Commodore 64 users to set up their
system so that the editor, compiler and
translator will access IEEE-488
peripherals, instead of the normal serial
devices. The boot program also loads the
popular DOS wedge program from disk,
allowing easier disk access.

Two versions of the KMMM Pascal
editor are supplied on the disk. The first
one is an editor and pseudocompiler that
comprises both advanced editing facUities
for creating Pascal source files, and the
s>Titax-c becking part of the larger com-
piler that allows you to check for errors
before you begin the compiling process.
This allows easy debugging of programs.
The second version of the editor takes up
about half as much memory as the larger
one, and does not include the syntax-
checking compiler. This version is only us-
ed when you are creating very large
Pascal files and need all of the computer's
free memory.

There are two modes within the editor.
The main function of the 'command'
mode is to control file access. In com-
mand mode the KMMM Editor
recognizes a large number of useful com-
mands: it is one of the most advanced
editors available with any version of
Pascal. But there's more — a second
mode known as 'window' mode that
allows you to create Pascal programs
(source files) with great ease. In this
mode the viewing area can be scrolled
both forward and backward, making it
much easier to edit programs.

Creating a Pascal source file is very dif-
ferent than programming in BASIC.
Pressing the 'HOME' key will move the
cursor to the home position of the view-
ing area (upper-left corner), but 'CLR'
will move the cursor to the bottom of the
viewing area (lower-left corner). The cur-
sor controls, 'INST' and 'DEL' act exact-

ly as in BASIC. However, other keys are
used for more advanced functions.
Special keys are assigned to such tasks
as deleting and inserting lines. It is also
possible to activate an insert mode in
which any characters typed are inserted
into a line, rather than replacing
characters in a line.

After a source file has been created,
you can then load the compiler and ex-
ecute it. After compiling the source file,
you may then dump the P-code listing to
disk and/or execute the translator. 'The
translator, in processing the P-code,
generates a 6K m.achine language pro-
gram consisting of the run-time package
for KMMM Pascal, followed by the
machine language generated from the
source file. Preceding this block of
machine language is a BASIC SYS com-
mand that allows the program to be
started with RUN. The program can be
saved, loaded and verified just like a nor-
mal Pascal program.

KMMM Pascal Extensions

Version IV. 5 of KMMM Pascal supports
standard Pascal commands except for
line numbering commands and the WITH

statement. Many extensions to standard
Pascal are also included.

The data type STRING comes from
UCSD Pascal. It allows the convenience
of using strings up to a user-specified
maximum length.

The new reserved words CALL, MEM,
SHL and SHR all give access to memory
locations. CALL is the Pascal equivalent
of BASIC'S SYS, allowing execution of
machine language programs from within
Pascal. MEM is like BASIC'S POKE and
PEEK, allowing direct changing of
memory registers. SHL and SHR are the
same as the machine language commands
ROL and ROR, allowing the bit patterns
of memory registers to be shifted
(rotated) to the left or right.

Many new functions give advanced
string handling capabilities to KMMM
Pfjscal. The CONCAT function allows any
number of variables of type CHAR or
STRING to be concatenated, or combin-
ed, into a single variable. COPY and
MIDSTR are like BASIC'S MID$; while
LEFTSTR and RIGHTSTR parallel
BASIC'S LEFTS and RIGHTlC functions.
DELETE is an inverse version of the

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But it "s more than just an assembler. Your programming will be
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programs easily and a machine language Monitor, a sophis-
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The package is 100% machine code and fully
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February 1985 41

COPY function, allowing small sections

of a large string to be deleted or replac-
ed. The POS function returns a value
equal to the starting position of
■STRING!' within 'STRING2'.

ANDB, ORB and NOTE allow Boolean
operations on INTEGER expressions.
GETKEY and INKEY allow KM MM
Pascal to receive a single keystroke from
the keyboard. GETKEY will return the
value CHR(O) immediately if no key is
pressed, while INKEY will wait until a
key is pressed to assign a value. RND is
like its BASIC counterpart, generating
either a new random value (parameter
positive) or a random value after chang-
ing the seed value (parameter negative).

Four non-standard procedures are also
supplied with KMMM Pascal IV.5. EX-
IT allows a program to exit from a pro-
cedure or function before it has been com-
pleted. CLOSE allows a single file open-
ed by RESET or REWRITE to be clos-
ed. This operation is necessary if disks are
changed in the same drive during file ac-
cess. ERASE allows a file of any type on
disk to be scratched from the file direc-
tory. Finally, RENAME allows any file
on disk to be given a new name in the disk
directory.

Included with the package is a 'securi-
ty key', similar to a cartridge, which plugs
into the cassette port of your machine. It
includes a male edge so that a cassette
drive can still be used. The security key
is required for execution of the compiler,
and safeguards against other program-
mers who try to compile your Pascal
source file. Each security key is unique,
and is not interchangeable with someone
else's key. However, all other parts of the
KMMM Pascal package will run without
the key in place.

Information on KMMM Pascal is
available from either A B Computer, 252
Bethlehem Pike, Colmar, Pennsylvania
18915, or Wilserv Industries, P.O. Box
456, Beilmawr, New Jersey 08031.

Revievy by Kevin Boardman

Simons' BASIC

from Commodore

Cartridge for Commodore 64

providing many additional

commands to the C-64's

BASIC

The Simons' BASIC cartridge transforms
Commodore 64 BASIC V.2 into one of
the most advanced and complete versions
of BASIC available for any microcom-
puter, allowng easy access to the C-64's
advanced capabilities,

42 TPUG Magazine

The package was created by David
Simons of Great Britain, and is marketed
by Commodore. It expands BASIC with
no less than 114 additional commands,
most of them usable in either direct or
program mode. Included are commands
to aid with editing and debugging, text
and screen manipulation, input valida-
tion, numeric and Boolean operations,
disk handling, graphics, sprite and
character graphics, structured program-
ming, music synthesis and remote control
handling operations. Let's take a quick
tour and see exactly what you get.

Editing and Debugging

Numerous commands provide help in
these areas. With KEY you can assign 16
functions to the function keys at the right
of the C-64 keyboard, using them in com-
bination with the SHIFT key and the
Commodore key. DISPLAY shows the
function key assignments.

AUTO automatically prints line
numbers at a desired increment.
RENUMBER renumbers program lines
at a desired starting line and increment.
GOTOs and GOSUBs are not
renumbered, however, for a reason that
I will explain later.

PAUSE allows you to program a delay
during which program execution halts.
The pause can be terminated early by
pressing the RETURN key. PAGE
divides program listings into pages of a
specified number of lines for easier
debugging. OPTION causes Simons'
BASIC keywords to be printed in reverse
field when listing a program, as an aid to
transferring programs to C-64's without
Simons' BASIC. DELAY controls the
speed with which program listings scroll
on the screen.

FIND, TRACE, and RETRACE are
also useful in debugging. FIND searches
through a program for a specific com-
mand sequence or string, and displays the
line numbers of all lines containing the
string. TRACE and RETRACE cause the
current line numbers of an executing pro-
gram to be displayed in a window in the
upper right corner of the screen.

COLD resets the computer, just as
though you typed 'SYS 64738'. OLD
causes an accidentally erased program —
one that has been NE Wed — to be reviv-
ed. It will also work to restore a program
after COLD. However, if any part of a
new program has been entered, the
previous program is lost.

DUMP displays the current values of
all assigned variables. RESET allows the
pointers of a DATA statement to be set
to a specific line number, eliminating the

need to read through data sequentially.
CGOTO allows a jump to a line number
specified by a numeric expression:
CGOTO 102 + 5 would have the same ef-
fect as GOTO 25. Finally, DISAPA and
SECURE allow any number of program
lines to be permanently hidden from the
user.

Text and Screen
Manipulation

The Simons' BASIC commands in this
area are some of the most advanced on
any personal computer. For example, IN-
SERT enables one to insert one string in-
side another at a specified position.
Similarly, INST allows a string to be plac-
ed into another larger string at a
specified position, overwriting the
original text. Two other commands,
PLACE and DUP, can be used in con-
junction with the insert commands for
even more complex manipulation.
PLACE makes it possible to determine
the position of a smaller string inside a
larger one, while DUP allows a certain
character to be duplicated a specified
number of times and inserted into a
string.

FETCH, which is similar to GET,
allows you to specify the types and
number of characters that can be entered.
INKEY allows simple checking for the
depression of a function key. Finally, ON
KEY allows very powerful input opera-
tions to be created. For example, a string
of six characters can be defined as input
characters. Thereafter, program execu-
tion will automatically jump to a specified
line number whenever one of the allow-
ed keys is pressed. This command can be
disabled with DISABLE and re-enabled
with RESUME.

PRINT AT allows the x and y coor-
dinates of a print statement to be
specified. USE allows alignment of
numerical data during print statements.
CENTRE allows text to be printed cen-
tred on a line. And LIN returns the cur-
rent row on which the cursor is
positioned.

Numeric Operations

MOD returns the remainder of a division
operation. DIV and FRAC respectively
return the integer and the fractional
parts of a division result.

Simon's BASIC supports binary and
hexadecimal numbers. Binary numbers
must be prefixed with a percentage sign
(e.g. %00000111), and hex numbers with
a dollar sign (e.g. SOCOO). The absence of
a prefix, of course, indicates a decimal
number. The three types of number can
be mixed freely in expressions, with the

result being given always in decimal. For
example, the command PRINT $FF will
cause the number 255 to be displayed.
The final mathematical enhancement is
the EXOR command, which performs an
'exclusive or' between two numbers. 'Ex-
clusive or' is one of the four fundamen-
tal logical operations (the others are
'and', 'or' and 'not').

Disk Operations

One major disappointment with normal
V.2 BASIC is that most disk drive func-
tions require extensive file openings and
control code transmissions, which can be
very time consuming. Simons' BASIC
provides commands to perform opera-
tions that would otherwise require a utili-
ty such as the DOS Wedge. One, DISK,
passes a string to the disk command chan-
nel without requiring that it first be
OPENed. To format a disk, for example,
you would use: DISK "NO:NAME,ID".
DIR lists the disk directory to the screen
without overwriting a program in
memory. MERGE will merge programs
and subroutines from disk into memory.
Unfortunately, no command is provided
to read the error channel.

Graphics

The most powerful, and certainly the
most enjoyable aspect of Simons' BASIC,
is its complete support of Commodore 64
graphics. Commands are available to
draw various shapes on the screen, and
to partially emulate turtle graphics.

COLOUR eliminates the tedious POKE
53281, C:POKE 53280,C. It is sure to be
the most widely used graphics command.
It requires two parameters: the border
colour and the screen colour. It also sets
up the colour scheme for the multicolour
graphics screen.

HIRES erases and set up a high resolu-
tion graphics screen with specified
foreground and background colours. The
equivalent command for multicolour
graphics is MULTI. HICOL and
LOWCOL allow the plotting colours to be
changed on the hi-res and multicolour
graphics screens respectively. NRM is us-
ed to return to a text screen, while CSET
is used to return to a graphics screen.

The plotting commands all apply to
both hi-res and multicolour screens.
PLOT turns on an individual pixel on the
graphics screen. LINE draws a line bet-
ween two specified points. REC draws a
rectangle of specified size. You can plot
entire circles and ellipses with CIRCLE,
or partial ones with ARC. ANGLE allows
a radius of any circular shape to be drawn
by designating the number of degrees

counter-clockwise from the vertical
diameter. BLOCK draws a solid rec-
tangle. PAINT fills any bounded section
of the screen with a specified colour.

DRAW allows a shape to be coded as
a string of digits, providing a modest 'tur-
tle graphics' capability. With ROT a
shape can be rotated by any multiple of
forty-five degrees, and its size changed
by any desired factor (of course, if the fac-
tor is too large, the drawing won't fit on
the screen).

CHAR and TEXT allow text of any size
to be displayed on the graphics screen.
The ability to vary the size of the
characters allows many variations in text
styles.

Screen Data Operations

Simons' BASIC provides a flexible screen
scrolling capability with the commands
LEFT, RIGHT, UP and DOWN. Data
may be either scrolled off the screen or
wrapped around to the opposite side. In-
stead of scrolling the entire screen at
once, if desired any number of separate-
ly defined windows can be scrolled at the
same time in any direction. By combin-
ing scroll commands, data can be scroll-
ed diagonally, as well.

BCKGNDS sets the background colour
of an individual character, which is useful
when using custom characters in games.
FLASH causes all characters of a
specified colour to alternate between nor-
mal and reverse field. For example,
FLASH will flash all the black
characters on the screen. OFF terminates
the flashing. BFLASH flashes the screen
border between two specified colours.

FCHR fills a section of the screen with
a specified character; the colour

equivalent is FCOL, which fills a section
of colour memory with a specified colour.
FILL combines these two commands, fill-
ing a screen area with a specified
character in a specified colour. MOVE
duplicates, and INV inverts, a specified
portion of the screen.

SCRSV and SCRLD save and load
screen data as sequential files on disk. To
save a screen, for example, you would
enter SCRSV 2,8,2," name, S",W". Also
useful are COPY, which dumps a hard
copy of the graphics screen to the printer;
and HRDCPY, which dumps the text
screen.

Sprites

Simons' BASIC does not require that you
specify sprite designs as a series of
numbers. Instead you draw a graph of the
sprite within your program, using the
DESIGN and @ commands. Both hi-res
and multicolour sprites are supported.

The CMOB command is used to set up
the colours for a sprite (MOB stands for
'Movable Object Block' — another term
for sprite). MOB SET initializes the
number, memory block, colour, priority
and resolution of a sprite. MMOB is us-
ed to display and move a sprite along a
line without user intervention. It accepts
parameters for the MOB number, the two
sets of coordinates between which the
sprite will move, the size of the sprite,
and the speed at which it will travel.
RLOCMOB is similar to MMOB, but the
current location of the sprite is taken to
be the starting point of its movement.

DETECT initializes sprite collision
detection, and CHECK then performs the
actual detection. MOB OFF turns off a
specified sprite.

Custom Characters

Creating custom characters with Simons'
BASIC is extremely simple. MEM copies
the character patterns from ROM to hid-
den RAM. By accessing this hidden RAM,
efficient use is made of all 64K of the
C-64. As with sprites, the characters are
defined using the DESIGN command,
along with the @ command, to create a
character grid within the program.

Structured Programming

This is an area that will be appreciated
by serious programmers. Simons' BASIC
allows the use of Pascal-like structures,
as well as procedures, obviating the need
for confusing GOTOs and GOSUBs. It is
in support of this philosophy that the
RENUMBER command does not
renumber GOTO and GOSUB targets.
ELSE is added to the IF. . .THEN
statement to simplify the branching in

February 1985 43

REPEAT.. UNTIL allows only one.

Simons' BASIC also supports pro-
cedures: powerful programming struc-
tures normally associated with languages
like Pascal, COMAL and Waterloo
BASIC. PROC is used to define a pro-
cedure name. The code following, up to
END PROC, constitutes the procedure.
It can be executed using the EXEC com-
mand. The effect is similar to GOSUB ex-
cept that the procedure is referred to by
name — not by a meaningless line
number. Similarly, CALL can be used to
directly transfer program execution to a
labelled line — a more civilized method
than GOTO. Associated with the use of
procedures is the powerful ability to
declare 'local' variables. Variables defin-
ed with the LOCAL command 'belong' to
a specific subroutine, and may have a dif-
ferent value somewhere else in the pro-
gram. GLOBAL restores the original
values to variables that were reassigned
with the LOCAL command.

Sound and Music

Simons* BASIC supports the SID sound
synthesis chip, which is used for sound ef-
fects and music programming on the
C-64.

VOL sets the volume of the SID's out-
put. WAVE sets the waveform of a
specified voice. MUSIC is used to encode
musical data. It supports 255 different
tempo settings and the full range of pit-
ches supported by the SID. Sharps and
flats may be specified, and individual pit-
ches may be fine-tuned. Having been en-
coded into a string variable, the music
may be played back either on its own, or
as background to another program
without stopping that program's action.

Special Input Devices

The X and y coordinates at which a light
pen is placed on the screen can be read
using the PENX and PENY commands.
The POT command returns the resistance
of a paddle, and the JOY command
returns the status of the joystick handle
and firebutton.

Conclusion

Simons' BASIC, it should be clear by
now, is pretty comprehensive. Commands
are offered for every aspect of program-
ming, making it easy for even a novice
to efficiently program the C-64. If you
wish to use your computer at its full
potential, and don't want to be bothered
with tiresome POKEs, Simons' BASIC is
what you need, and I recommend it.

Review by Kevin Boardman

Vegas Jackpot

and Duckshoot

from Mastertronic

Arcade-style games for

Commodore 64 with disk drive

Vegas Jackpot is a game that simulates
a four-reel slot machine, using the func-
tion keys to bet, collect, gamble and pay.
The number keys 1 to 4 are used to hold
any reels that you want to try to match,
but this option is not available each time.
On a win, you can collect, or gamble for
progressively larger wins. The game is so
well done that I would not be surprised

to see it in a casino. The odds are such
that it takes about fifteen minutes to lose
your hundred dollar stake — the same as
at the casinos.

Duckshoot is similar to the video ar-
cade game called Carnival. You get a gun
controlled by your joystick, a supply of
bullets displayed at the bottom of the
screen, and three rows of bears, bonus
items and ducks. If you don't shoot the
ducks before they get to the bottom row,
they fly dowTi and eat ten of your bullets.
In the arcade game the screen is vertical,
while in this version, it is horizontal, giv-
ing less room to catch the ducks. Still, it
is an excellent game.

Reviewed by Mike Martin

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44 TPUG Magazine

Chiller, BMX Racers,
and Spacewalk

from Mastertronic

Arcade-style games for
Commodore 64 and disk drive

Chiller's opening screen shows Michael
Jackson as a zombie rising out of the
earth. It is excellently done in colourful
hi-res — a good thing, because it takes
four minutes to load from a 1541 (it won't
load at ail from a 4040 drive).

The game begins to the sounds of
Jackson's 'Thriller'. Like those opening
graphics, the music is very well done.

At first, I found the play was confusing
— I didn't know who was who. However,
I soon learned not to touch the spider,
that the man in blue was a zombie, and
that the man in red and white was me —
Michael Jackson.

To get to the second of the five screens,
you have to collect five magic crosses, but
mo\ing around the forest uses up energy.
More energy can be obtained from
baskets and toadstools.

Polar Pecker plays Chiller

Chiller can be played with either
joystick or keyboard, but the joystick is
definitely easier to use.

In BMX Racer, you drive your BMX
pedal dirt-bike though the race course,
going over bridges, and dodging trees, oil
patches and other obstacles. You can ad-
just the bike's speed by pushing forward
on the joystick. As you finish one winding
course the screen changes to a new and
more difficult one.

In Space Walk, you are an astronaut
on the moon. The object is to capture
satellites. The joystick controls your jet
pack, which lets you move around to grab
satellites. After you get the satellites you
take them back to your shuttle and then
the screen changes. You collect points for
each satellite you catch. You must avoid
meteorites, landers and other astronauts.

These games are no better (or worse)
than many other computer games
available, but these offer features like hi-
res graphics and music for only ten
dollars.

Reviews by David Wright

Switching 1541 Device Numbers

by Elizabeth Deal

In her article 'Switching 1541 Device Numbers' in the .January TFUti Magazme,
Elizabeth Deal described a 'seini-permanent' method of changitig the device nmnher
on a mil disk drive. The method involres wiring a .fwitck to the drive'a rirc\iit board
in place of the device-selection jitrnper^. By this wenns the devire rmi be selected ul
tkejlick ofthesvntch, instead ofii.timi mthcr the hardware methnil //rhirh l.t i-rrevocable
~ you can't replace thv. jwmpers,). or the software method (which ki ephemeral — the
device number elmniies h'trk tvlien ym; .s?vitrh off the drirel. Liz recommemh that Ike
dei'ice number should, he selected before poieering up Ike system. Hotcever. for those
irhii iriiiii to i--iiitcfi derice v.vmberf; while the system is on. she k'ls provided a number
of interesting observations, which formed the second part of her article. Due to an
editorial slip-up this did not appear last month, so here it is now.

Software Reset: Not Recommended

Strange events keep happening with the software reset command. It may be useful,
though, if you must s\s-itch device number without turning off the system. If you
are interested in some curious details, read on.

The reset command should only be 'UJ', or so the CBM book says. Richard Immers
and Gerald Neufeld in their Inside Commodore DOS book state that you should use
the 'U;' (colon) command since 'UJ' crashes. I think they are onto something, but
my results are different:

I used 'UJ' on the #S ROMs and Kernal 1 and 2 0-64. I never had problems using,
thu old DOS- WEDGE 5.1. On the cuj-rent C-<54 and #5 ROM.s, only the 'U;' (semicolon)
works, everything else erashe.s when the U commavd is in a PRINTS statement. But
three ver-sions of the U command work with the 5.1 WEDGE 1 got recently as well
as an old one. Ditto POWER and ditto some home-brew code in Supermon.

So ii's a jungle. Here are several change-and-reset schemes that work. To change
from device 9 to 8:

Wedge 5.1

POWER/MOREPOWER

Supermon. E;3

1. nip the switch ii'uni number 9 U> numljer 8

2. reset disk >UJ DISK-'UJ"

3. tell system >#8 DEVICE 8

4. use it > Function-3 key

>UJ
>F8
>

In all three systems you can use 'UJ', 'U:' or 'U;'. They all do the job so long as
you do every step in this order and no other. I find the existence of three commands
a bit peculiar.

By the way, on the \M 1 you don't hear the reset. But you can always confirm that
the drive was reset by interrogating the error channel (point 4). The '73,CBM DOS
V2.6 1541,00,00' message tehs you a reset has taken place.

I have submitted Supermon.ES to the TPUG library about June, it should be
available by now. Incidentally, the initialization SYS defaults everything ta device
8, So if you use device 9, tell Supermon. E3 about it using the flip-device command,
' > F9'. However, whatever you do almost makes no difference. You shouldn't crash
since the program always checks if a device is there, prior to all I/O operations in-
cluding SAVE and LOAD. If the de\'ice isn't there, you either get a '?* or the prompt.
You may get some garbage. 'SEARCHING'. 'LOADING' or the like. Ignore it.

The PR!NT# Puzzle

First flip the switch to a desired device number, then RUN this:

inCD = 9:ND = 8:OPEN 1,CD,15:PRINT#1, "Ur:CLOSE 1
20 OPEN 1,ND,15:]NPUT#1. E,ES:PRINT E;ES:CL0SE1

Line 10 tells the computer current device (CD), and the new device to which you
just positioned the switch (ND). Then it resets the drive. CLOSE 1 isn't needed. Line
20 shows the sign-on message '(73, CBM DOS V2.G 1541)' confirming that change
has taken place. Only 'U;' furictions. The colon and J crash. 1 tried ail sort of varia-
tions of this thing, and the results are the same. A strange puzzle.

Conclusion

Since the Wedge, POWER and Supermon. E3 work any of the three U commands,
I think the problem casmot be in the disk ROMs, but rather in the way BASIC handles
the OPEN and PRINT* commands as u-sed for reset. Any ideas out there?

February 1985 45

>INTIGyREFILTER

In recent years, as the use of CRT's (cathode ray
tubes) has grown dramatically, so has concern over
the effects these systems hove on their operators.
Complaints of eye strain, hecdoches. unwarranted
weariness and fatigue are common among com-
puter terminal and word processor operators. The
result of these symptoms can be lower productivity
arid increased absenteeism.

Our innovative and inexpensive add-on is changing
the attitudes of employees who work with computer
terminals and word processors. A video display unit
(VDU) with an anti-glare filter attached can benefit
an employer by providing a more comfortable work
station. Increased comfort means increased produc-
tivity.

The PERIPHLEX filter sharpens the image on the
screen by blocking out the residual light along the
edges of the images projected. It also eliminates up
to 87% of the reflected glare of sunlight or fluores-
cent lights from the VDU. It does' all of this without
distorting the visuals — in fact, in most cases the
visuals ore crisperond cleaner

The CRT ( cathode ray tube) used in a VDU is made of
glass and glass reflects tight. It is this light that the
PERIPHLEX filter is designed to absorb.

The resu Its of evaluations by several major customers
(including banks, insurance companies, boards of
education, newspapers, hospitals. Government
ministries, etc.) clearly show that PERIPHLEX filters
substantially increase the comfort of the operators'
working conditions by reducing glare and reflection.
With a reduction in operator fatigue, several have
reported an increase in productivity by as much as
20%!

PERIPHLEX filters are available in a variety of sizes
and textures and are compatible with VDUs of more
than 80 computer and word processor manufactur-
ers from such major suppliers as IBfvl, Honeywell,
Xerox and Telex to smaller firms such as Basic Four,
Tec and Incoterm. We also provide a custom manu-
facturing service for specialized applications and
problems.

In addition to the immediate benefits of employee
comfort and increased productivity, PERIPHLEX filters
offer a long term advantage. With use, the phos-
phors on the inside of a CRT begin to degrade. This
degradation results in Increasingly fuzzy images on
the screen. PERIPHLEX filters clipthe fuzziness making
the visuals crisp and can therefore extend the
usable life of a CRT by as much as two years.

Micromonofilament

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Suggested
List Price

Software &
Accessories

PUG

705 Progress Avenue,
Unit 17,
Scarborough,
Ontario MlH 2X1

Phone: (416) 431-3200

MasterCard

Classified

For Sale; Commodore B256 c/w word processor, 8250 disk drive.
(705) 386-7431, Don Brothers, P.O. Box 339, South River,
Ont.

Looking for 8096/8296 programmer to convert 64 Genealogy
program and e.xpand it using bank switching. File expert re-
quired. Call Jim (902) 765-3929.

Sell: 4032 with cassette, printer 2023, books, programs, $900.00,
Write: A.E.R. Ltd. Longworth BC VOJ 2B0.

PET 4032, Tape Recorder, 240 word SAT vocabulary test. Best
Offer. K, Hergt, 125 N. Main, Cheboygan, MI 49721.

C-64 Software For Sale: Time works Data Manager 2, Word
Writer — $40.00 each. Hesware Multiplan $80.00 or ali for
5150.00. Trades considered. Call (416) 274-0622.

For Sale: Signahnan Mark VII modem. Unused PET/CBM
modem with autodial/autoanswer capability; includes cables,
adapter and instructions. $80.00 or best offer. Call Dave at
(4 Hi) 284-7851.

For Sale: CBM 8032, 8050 disk drive, 5515 Spinvvriter (55 cps),
WordPro IV, all manuals, $2500 o.b.o. (206) 892-0983.

Fen Pals Wanted: I am interested in corresponding with anyone
who has used a genealogical program or been involved with
genealogical work with C-64. L. Chaney, 11660 Rough &
Ready Rd., Rough & Ready, CA, U.S. 95975

Wordpro 4 + for 8032: Complete with ROM chip, diskette, and
training manual. Was $400 new: $100 takes it! Excellent
working condition. Write: Greg Mailloux, Assumption Col-
lege School, 1100 Huron Church Rd., Windsor, Ontario.

SCREEN DUMPER 64 "

COPYRIGHT 1984 BY MICRO-W DISTRIBUTING INC.

How would you like to have a copy of all of the text or graphics
that appear on your monitor screen? Well SCREEN DUMPER
64"" may be what you are
looking for. This program will
transfer to your printer* a copy
of what you see on your monitor
screen including hi-resoiution
graphics, text, and multicolor
sprite, etc. h even works with
the KOALA PAD™. You can
load this program into your
computer in a hidden location
so that it shouldn't interfere
with your programs. This means
that you can use your Commo-
dore 64 normally and then call
up this routine to dump what is
on the screen. Colors are repre-
sented by 1 5 shades of gray for
faithful reproductions.
ALL THIS FOR ONLY

$29.95

Call: (201 ) 838-9027 To Order

Micr5=kY.

DiSTRtBUriNG. INC

1342 B Route 23
Butiei, NJ. 07405

C-64 and VIC 20 Owners

64K and 256K Memory Expansion and Great Software to take full advantage of Expanded

Memory

Call or Write

for Our

New Low Prices

256KC. . . Add 256 K bytes of RAM mem-
ory to your Commodore 64 and you'll have
power never before available. . - ever!!!

64KC. . . Both the 256KC and this unit
are paged memory and are completely
compatible with the PBS software listed
above and will give your C-64 the power
the big boys have! Also included with
either memory is RAM DISK software to
use the memory as a disk drive.

Practical Writer. . . This word processing system is menu-driven
and very easy to learn. The program offers transfer, insert, delete,
search and repface, math capacity, print command file and more.
It will utilize all available memory including the 256K memory
expander.

Practical Speller. . . This spelling checker works
in coniuction with Practical Writer and will work in
a fraction of the time when used with the
expanded memory.

Practical Budget. . . This set of pro-
grams offers budget projections. 40 in-
come and expense classes, detail reports
by month of income and expenses, year
to date detail analysis, and prior year com-
parative statements.

Educational Discount
Available

256 K Byte factory upgrade for your 64KC . . . S389.95 This can be added to the 64KC at any time.

64KV. , - The 64KV memory for the VIC 20 comes with ROf^ software to enable you to write BASIC programs that exceed 69,000 bytes.

64KVA. . . The 64KVA adapter allows you to use the VIC 20 memory (64KV| on the C-64 Computer.

All products available directly from: B & R Enterprises & Assoc, inc.

Petferlaw, ON LOE 1N0, (705) 437-3187

We accept VISA. MC. Checks or Money orders. Please add S2 00 stiipping and handling or add S5,00 (or COD orders. 7% ON Sales Tax

Dealers inquiries are inviled

Library Additions

TPUG's library of public domain sq/?-
wai'e grows month by month. Hundreds
of disks containing thousands of pro-
grams are avadlable to TFUG members at
the nominal, cost of left rfoitar.s per rfi.s/c
(see order form elsewhere in this issue).
Considering that each disk is packed mith
good programs, at today's software prices
this is a fantastic value.

In order for the library to keep grow-
ing onr librarians need a constant supp-
ly of new programs. If you have written
a program or a collection of programs
that you think might be an asset to the
library, please sent it to: TFUG Program
Library. 1912A Avenue Road Suite 1,
Toronto. Ontario MsM J,Al. Canada. If
your contj-ibut ion is accepted you icill be
sent the library disk of your choice. If for
some reason your contribution is not
needed, your origimil disk will be return-
ed to you.

On the.'ie pages our libj-arians describe
their nio.'st recent coynpilations.

November VIC 20 Disk:
V(TD)

An exceptional program on this month's
disk is Col Calc 16K - a 16K electronic
spreadsheet for the VIC 20! Documenta-
tion for the spreadsheet is contained in
a menu-driven program called Colcak
Inst.l6K.

Col Calc 16K is well-written and very
powerful. Take the time to plan your
spreadsheet carefully, and I think you'll
be pleased. A small suggestion: take a
look at the sample programs and print
them out, if possible, before trj-ing to
design your own spreadsheet.

Another great program this month is
an adventure game called The Midway,
also a 16K program. This well-
constructed game is set in the circus mid-
way. It should offer many hours of fun.
Among the locations you'll explore are
the Fun House, the Ferris Wheel, the
Shooting Gallery and the Hot Dog Stand,
to name just a few. Time is crucial, and
there's a booby-trap you have to watch
out for, as well. Don't neglect to draw a
map!

I'd like to thank Charlotte Latin School
and Walter L. Newton for these contribu-
tions to the TPUG library, along with
everyone else whose programs appear on

this month's excellent disk. At the same
time, I'd like once again to request that
you send in your programs, as it is becom-
ing hard to fill disks each month. In fact,
there will not be a December VIC 20 disk
this year, owing to the shortage of
material. So please take a look at your
programs, old and new, and see if there
isn't something you've written that you'd
like to share with the rest of us. We'll all
benefit.

Presented by Dary[ King

November C-64 Disk:
C(TD)

If you have a non-Commodore printer and
you want to print out hi-res pictures, the
Dumpnoncomm is the program for you.
List lines 21 10-2250 before you run the
program, to make sure that it is set up
for your printer. A sample picture is pro-
vided. Good luck. . .

You'll find a great character editor pro-
gram on this disk: Grafixeditor2. When
the display appears, use the cursor keys
to position the cursor over the character
that you want to edit, and then hit the
'UP ARROW key. The character will ap-
pear in the area you are editing. Use '.'
to turn a pixel on, and 'SPACE' to turn
one off. Press the 'LEFT ARROW key
to see the menu. Three sample sets are
provided.

November C-64 Disk:
(C)MC

This disk has five programs that people
involved in Language Arts education v\'ill
find useful. They are: Simple Sent, Com-
pound Sent, Drill er/ir/ur. Drill ie/ei,
and Drill ou/ow.

Simple Sent teaches the difference be-
tween a simple sentence and a fragment.
Compound Sent teaches the basics of the
compound sentence. The three Drill pro-
grams give practice spelling words that
have similar sounds, but different spell-
ings. All five are quite well done.

You'll also find no less than eleven
handy little utility programs, all in
machine language, which I won't describe
individually. Instructions for them are
provided in a file called 'INSTRUC-
TIONS.C. Good luck. ..

November C-64 Disk:
(C)MD

If you are into Waterloo BASIC, then a
program on this disk will be of interest
to you. It is like Waterloo BASIC, except
that many of the Waterloo bugs have
been fixed and some new features have
been added. All Waterloo programs will
work with Northcastle Structured
BASIC. To execute the 'RUN' versions,
just use LOAD and RUN. The other ver-
sions must be loaded ,8,1 and they must
be turned on with the appropriate SYS.
Good luck. . .

A handy utility this month is Easy DOS
Loader. This has lots of great commands
that can be activated with the touch of
just a few keys.

Game players will like 100 Meter
Loader and Chip Away Loader (very
similiar to Break Out). Good luck. . .

C-64 IVIusic Disk: (C)S5

There is a lot of great music on this disk.
The menu program is called Jukebox.
Among the pieces you won't want to miss
are: Africa, Daniel, Ehw Kleine, Star
Wars, Karma and Elephant Walk.

C-64 Music Disks:
(C)S6,(C)S7,(C)S8

If you enjoyed any of the other ML music
disks, then these three disks are for you!
If you haven't yet found out what good
C-64 music is like, they're for you also!
Some exceptional songs on these disks
are: The Entertainer, Beer Barrel Polka,
La Cucaracha and Tumbling Tumble.

December C-64 Disk:
(C)TE

Before we look at the programs on this

disk, I should point out that the program
listed in the directory as search/
replace. c, should have been called
search/rescue. c. Sorry about that — it
was late, I was tired, and my fingers were
refusing to take orders from my brain.
There's a great game on this disk. It's

48 TPUG Magazine

lOO

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USERS I

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Serious programmers want the Deluxe Cartridge Package.
For S128.90 they get the best language on any 8 bit
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PHONE (705) 437-3187 or WRITE B & R ENTER-
PRISES INC., PEFFERLAW, ONT. LOE INO

WRITE OR PHONE FOR
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OUR COMPUETE MONB-Y SAVINS PRICE LIST
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CAli (705) 437-3187 PHONE ORDERS ACCEPTED 9 AM TO 10 PM MON.-SAT. CAU (705) 437-3187 Dealer INQUIRIES INVITED

called Qix (pronounced 'quix'). People
from all over the world have been
donating this game to the library for a
year and a half. The only reason that it
did not appear much sooner is that I
suspected that it must be under copy-
right. I tried to find out who was selling
it, but I never could, so here it is. The ob-
ject is to get 75 per cent of the screen
before your time runs out. Beware of the
two stars, and of the 'quix' that is zipp-
ing around the screen. Plug your joystick
into control port 1, Good luck. . .

Another good game is Battleships.
Battleships has been around for quite a
while on the PET, but this version is
greatly improved. As in the board game,
the idea is to place your ships strategic-
ally on your grid. Then you start trying
to find the computer's ships, while it tries
to find yours. Hits are acknowledged
aurally as well as visually. Have a good
time with it, and good luck finding the PT
boat!

Before we leave the subject of games,
don't forget to check out Hangman.
Another Hangman, you say? Yes, but
none of them hang like this one! It must
be seen.

On the utility side of things, machine
language programmers will be glad to see
Monad, a powerful machine language
monitor. Be sure to load it ,8,1 and enter
SYS 8M096 to execute it. A lot of the in-
structions are the same as Supermon's,
but there are many extras — like the
capability of scrolling through memory
dumps and disassemblies with the func-
tion keys.

People who have been searching for
just the right program to keep track of
all their files with, will enjoy using Disk
File 3,4, a fast, easy-to-use utility that
can work with an MSD-2, a 4040, a 1541
(device 8), or two 1541s (one device 8 and
the other device 9). I'd suggest that you
have a separate data disk for this
program.

Presented by David Bradley

December PET Disk:
P(TE)

This month's disk has a varied collection
of utilities that you won't want to miss.
Ultrasort is a sort program written in
assembler for maximum speed. Also in-
teresting are Rel File Fix, which allows
you to read and modify relative files, and
Rel-Seq Conv, which allows you to inter-
convert relative and sequential files. With
Usr Def Kybrd, as the name suggests,
you can redefine the keys on your com-

puter. With Hi-res Plot, written in
assembler, you can plot double density
pixels on a 40 column screen.
2031-Copy/All is a single drive copy pro-
gram for the 2031, and Squeezer is a
BASIC program compactor.

If you are interested in ham radio, you
won't want to miss three programs
designed to help you with your hobby.
Ham Register is a call sign and name
register that allows you to get an
operator's name and other information
you have entered just by typing in the call
sign. With Morse-Bttrfid you can prac-
tise sending and receiving code, and vnth
QSL you can print your own QSL cards.

A special feature on this disk is a pair
of programs that focus on sports
medicine. Power Jump 80 helps you
calculate the energy required in a power
jump from a crouched position. Apparent-
ly this is especially useful for those in-
terested in badminton. With Step Test
80, you can calculate energj' consumption
using the aerobic step test method.

Three integrated business programs for
the 8032 should help you to put your
finances in perspective. The three are Ac-
counting, Budget and Checkbook. The
programs are supported with a common
base of six data files. You'll also want to
check out Diskfile, a simple database pro-
gram for disk.

We still haven't hit all the high points
on P(TE), but by now it should be pretty
clear that this is one you don't want to
miss.

Presented by Mike Donegan

December SuperPET
Disk (S)TK

This month's disk contains about twenty
programs. There are some programs for
the 6502 side of the SuperPET, and more
for the 6809 side.

For the 6502 side, there are a number
of programs submitted by Roger
Bassaber of Ste. Clotilde, France. For the
most part, these make use of banked
memory. Included are two 6502
assemblers: one in BASIC, the other in
machine language. There is a program
that lets you scroll BASIC programs, to
make programming and debugging
easier. There is also a disassembler, and
an editor patterned after the Pascal
editor.

For the 6809 user, there is a collection
of utilities, including some that have been
distributed previously, but for which the
assembly code is now provided. There are
several screen dump programs that dump

from the top of the screen to the line
above the cursor. These can co-exist with
all languages, and will dump to all sup-
ported peripheral devices such as printers
and disk drives. For printers, both car-
riage control and carriage control/
linefeed are supported. There are ver-
sions to load from the menu and from the
monitor.

Other utilities on the disk include a
routine to set the time and date on the
SuperPET, a program to print a sequen-
tial file, and a routine to set the tabs to
pre-determined values. There is also a
program to set the left margin on a
Diablo printer. This collection of utilities
comes from ISPUG, and represents part
of the ISPUG Summer 1984 Utilities
Disk. There will likely be more programs
from that source on next month's
SuperPET disk.

From Avygdor Moise this month, there
is a program to drive a Radio Shack Col-
or Computer compatible printer. This
printer connects to the RS232 port of the
SuperPET. As might be expected of any
device drivers using this port, it is best
driven through PETCOM, though it will
work well without PETCOM, too. Page
feeds are lacking on this printer, so the
driver simulates them. A documentation
file on the disk provides some informa-
tion on how to connect the printer to the
SuperPET, and what parameters need to
be established to drive it.

This month's final program is an ex-
tended precision calculator, which can
carry out simple arithmetic operations,
with up to four hundred digits of preci-
sion. It handles addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division. There are five
registers for holding intermediate results.
Input streams from disk, as well as from
the keyboard, are supported, as is output
of calculations to printer and disk file.
This program is written in Waterloo
BASIC and, as a consequence, can be
rather stow. It is, however, much faster
(and more accurate) than doing the job by
hand. The speed factor contributed to the
need to make the calculations 'program-
mable', so that a job could be initiated
with all input — both instructions and
data — being read from a disk file. In this
way, the machine can run complex prob-
lems, yet remain unattended. The pro-
gram was converted from an IBM-PC
public domain program, and includes
enhancements by Bill Dutfield.

That about covers the contents of this
month's disk. As usual, the disk also con-
tains a describe file, providing further in-
formation.

Presented by Bill Dutfield D

so TPUG Magazine

t%^^

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Dealer and distributor inquiries inviied.

Write for our FREE catalog.

Send us your programs We publish sollware.

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TPUG Associate Club Chapters

The cliibs Listed below have taken advantage ofTPUG's offer to
have fifteen or more of their inembera join TPUG at a saving
of five dollars per member. The groups that have at least twenty-
five TPUG members receive a free monthly disk ten times a year.
Wi-iie or call the TPUG office if you want more details.

Canada

Barrie Users' Group (Ontario)

Bruce C64 User's Group (Ontario)

C-BUG (Thunder Bay, Ontario)

Chaleur Commodore Club (New Brunswick)

Club Commodore de Chicoutimi (Quebec)

Commodore Users Club of Sudbury (Ontario)

Commodore Users Group of Masset (British Columbia)

Commodore Users of Edmonton (Alberta)

COMVIC (Bracebridge, Ontario)

Frontenac Commodore Users Group (Ontario)

Guelph Computer Club (Ontario)

Indian Affairs Teachers Using Computers (Ontario)

London Commodore Users Club (Ontario)

Niagara Commodore Users Group (St. Catharines, ON)

Ottawa Home Computing Club (Ontario)

PET Educators Group (Windsor, Ontario)

Riverdale Computer Club (Toronto)

Sarnia C64 Users Group (Ontario)

Saskatoon Commodore User's Group (Saskatchewan)

Timmins Computer Club (Ontario)

Winnipeg PET Users Group (Manitoba)

United States

Anchorage Commodore Users Group (Alaska)

Boston Computer Society (Massachusetts)

The C-64 Users Group, Inc. (Chicago, IL)

Colorado Commodore Computer Club

Commo-Hawk Commodore Users Group (Cedar Rapids, lA)

Commodore 64 Owners of Petaluma (California)

Commodore Computer Club of Toledo (Ohio)

Commodore Connection Computer Club (W. Palm Bob., FLA)

Commodore Houston Users Group (Texas)

Commodore Users Group of Pensacola (Florida)

Commodore Users Group of Rochester (New York)

The Commodore Users Group of St. Louis (Missouri)

Commodore Users Society of Greenville (S. Carolina)

Eagle Rock Commodore Computer Club (Idaho)

Genesee County Area Pet Users Group (Michigan)

Greater Omaha Commodore 64 Users Group (Nebraska)

Huntsville Alabama Commodore Komputer Club — HACKS

Kankakee Hackers (Illinois)

Lehigh Valley Commodore Users Group (Pennsylvania)

Manasota Commodore Users Group (Florida)

MAT-SU Commodore-64 Club (Wasilla, Alaska)

Michigan's Commodore 64 Users Group

Mid-City Commodore Club (Fort Worth, Texas)

Mohawk Valley Commodore User's Group (New York)

Mountain Computer Society (Sandy, Utah)

Peninsula Commodore-64 Users Group (Virginia)

Phoenix Arizona Commodore Club

Russellville Commodore Users Group (Arkansas)

Sacramento Commodore Computer Club (California)

S.C.O.P.E. (Dallas, Texas)

South Kent TPUG (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Southern California 64 Users Group

Southern Minnesota Commodore Users Group

Tri-City Commodore Computer Club (Washington)

Westmoreland Commodore Users' Club (Pennsylvania)

International

Baden Computer Club (West Germany)
Hawkes Bay Commodore Users Group (New Zealand)
Trinidad Assoc, of Commodore Owners — TACO
Zweibrucken Commodore Computer Club (West Germany)

Butterfield Book Fact Fixes

by Jim Butterfield

A few items that didn't turn out right in
my recent publications:

Machine Language For The Commodore

6i and Other Commodore Computers
(Brady Communications Company, Inc.
Bowie, MD 20715)

Page 25, in the box; The address of
CHROUT should be SFFD2, not $FFD as
shown.

Page 51, in the box: Status: Status ilags
maybe changed. In the VIC 20 and Com-
modore 64, the C (Carry) flag indicates
some type of problem with output.

Page 96, middle: The RAM space from
$0801 to $CFFF is a whopping 50K, not
94K.

Page 96, near the bottom: David Hook
wants me to mention that my statement,
"BASIC programs will relocate as they
load", is correct for VIC 20, Commodore
64, Commodore 16/Plus 4 and B systems,
but is not true for PET and CBM
machines. I pointed out that this is ex-
plained under the heading, 'Extras for
VIC and Commodore 64', but he thinks
I should clarify the point anyway.

Page 174: The addresses at the top
should be $E880 (decimal 59520) and
$E881 (decimal 59521).

Page 175: Figure C.5 is a duplicate of
figure C.3 on page 173. Perhaps this com-
pensates for the missing figure on page
193.

Page 193: Only half the memory map is

given. The missing diagram can be found

in the Commodore Reference Diary 1985
(see below), page 134; or in The Complete
Commodore Inner Space Anthology, a
comprehensive reference for Commodore
computers soon to be released by The
Transactor magazine.

Commodore Reference Diary 1985 (Copp
Clark Pitman Ltd., 495 Wellington Street
West, Toronto, Ontario M5V IE 9)

Page 123: Saving A Program; SAVE
"0:PROG2" should be SAVE
"0:PROG2",8. On the next line ('Wedge')
= PROGNAME should be tPR0G2.
Next year, I'll probably put in PROG-
NAME for this example, since some
readers wondered if the 2 digit has some
mystical significance (it hasn't).

Page 148: In line 110, IF/ST = should
be IF ST = 0. D

S2 TPUG Magazine

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Calendar of TPUG Events

Winter/spring Schedule

Please note: The exceptions to the 'rule' for the designated date
for a meeting (e.g. second Thursday) are shown in bold.

Brampton Chapter: Central Peel Secondary School, 32 Kennedy
Rd. N. on the second Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the
Theatre.

Thu. Jan. 10

Thu. Mar. 7

Thu. Apr. 11

Thu. May 2
Thu. June 6

Central Chapter: Leaside High School, Bayview & Eglinton
Aves. on the second Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in
the auditorium for 'advanced' computerists.

Wed. Jan. 9

Wed. Feb. 13

Wed. Mar. 20

Wed. Apr, 10

Wed. May 8
Wed. June 12

COMAL Chapter: York Public Library, 1745 Eglinton Ave. W.
O'ust east of Dufferin) on the last Thursday of the month at 7:30
p.m. in the Story Hour Room (adjacent to the auditorium).

Thu. Jan. 24

Thu. Feb. 28

Thu. Mar. 2S
Thu. Apr. 25

Thu. May 30
Thu. June 27

Commodore 64 Chapter: York Mills C.I., 490 York Mills Rd.
(east of Bayview) on the last Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m.
in the cafetorium.

Men. Jan. 28
Men. Feb. 25

Mon. Mar. 25
Mon. Apr. 29

Mon. May 27
Mon. June 10

Communications Chapter; York Public Library, 1745 Eglinton
Ave. W. Gust east of Dufferin) on the first Wednesday of the
month at 7:30 p.m. in the Story Hour Room (adjacent to the
auditorium).

Wed. Jan. 2
Wed. Feb. 6

Wed. Mar. 6
Wed. Apr. 3

Wed. May 1
Wed. June 5

Eastside Chapter: Dunbarton High School, (go north on Whites
Rd. from the traffic lights at Highway 2 and Whites Rd. to next
traffic lights; turn left to parking lots) on the second Monday
of the month at 7:30 p.m.

Mon. Jan. 14
Mon. Feb. 11

Mon. Mar. 11
Mon. Apr. 15

Mon. May 13
Mon. June 10

Hardware Chapter: York Public Library, 1745 Eglinton Ave.
W. (just east of Dufferin) on the second Tuesday of the month
at 7:30 p.m. in the Story Hour Room (adjacent to the
auditorium).

Tue. Jan. 8 Tue. Mar. 12 Tue. May 14

Tue. Feb. 12 Tue, Apr. 9 Tue. June 11

Machine Language Chapter (6502): Fenton High School, off
Kennedy Rd., south of Steeles Ave., Brampton, on the first
Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the computer room. For
further information call Garry Ledez c/o 416-782-8900,

Tue. Jan. 8

Tue. Feb. 5

Tue. Mar. 5
Tue. Apr. 2

Tue. May 7
Tue, June 4

SuperPET Chapter: York University, Petrie Science Building
(check in Room 340). Use north door of Petrie to access building.
On the third Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m.

Wed. Jan, 16
Wed, Feb. 20

Wed. Mar. 13

Wed. Apr. 17

Wed. May 15
Wed. June 19

VIC 20 Chapter: York Public Library, 1745 Eglinton Ave. W,
(just east of Dufferin) on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30
p.m. in the auditorium.

Tue. Jan. 15

Tue. Feb. 5

Tue. Mar. 5
Tue, Apr. 2

Tue, May 7
Tue. June 4

Westside Chapter: Clarkson Secondary School, Bromsgrove
just east of Winston Churchill Blvd. (south of the QEW) on the
third Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the Little Theatre
for PET/CBM/VIC 20/Commodore 64.

Thu. Jan. 17

Thu. Mar, 21
Thu, Apr. 18

Thu. May 16
Thu. June 20

* Joint Brampton/ Westside meeting at Central Peel Secondary
School in Brampton on February 20,

Are you interested in organizing some other interest group in
the Greater Toronto area? Please let the club office know, by
mail, phone, or TPUG bulletin board.

pOUBLE
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54 TPUG Magazine

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Academy Software 53

Advantage Computer Accessories BC

Batteries Included IFC

Besco Products 55
B & R Enterprises 19.47,49,55

Bullock Industries 53

Cardinal Software 51

Comal Users Group, U.S.A.. Ltd, 49

Computer Rentals 44

Comspec Communications Inc. 13

Electronics 2001 Ltd. 2,44

Gage Publishing Ltd. 17

Genealogy Software 33

(The) Gold Disk 6

King Microware Ltd. • 23,51

Micol Systems 41

Micro Solutions 33
Micro-W Distributing inc. 23,35,47

Midnite Software Gazette 5

Milne's Computer Control Systems 24

Mimic IBC

New Wilderness 44

Programmers Guild Products Ltd, 23

Pro-Line Software 33,35
PUG Software & Accessories . . 46

Rocky Mtn. Floppies 44

S & V Associates 12

Transactor 5

TPUG (Ad Manager) 35

TPUG (Comal Manual) 49

TPUG (OS/9) 32

Windsor PET Educator's Group 24

Wycor Business Systems 34

TPUG
CONTACTS

Board of Directors

President
Vice-President
Vice-President
Treasurer
Recording Sec.

Business Manager
Office Manager
Library Co-ord.

TPUG Magazine

Pulilisher
Editor

Assistant Editor
Ad Director

Michael Bonnycastle
Chris Bennett
Gord Campbell
Carol Shevlin
John Shepherd
Rosemary Beasley
David Bradlev
or the TPUG BBS
or CompuServe
Gary Croft
Mike Donegan
Biil Dutfield
John Easton
Carl Epstein
Keith Falkner
Gerry Gold
Rob Lockwood
Louise Redgers
Chris Bennett
Doris Bradley
David Bradley

Chris Bennett
Nick Sullivan
Marya Milter
Louise Redgers

416/654-2381
416/782-9252
416/492-9518

c/o416/782-8900
416/244-1487

c/o416/782-8900

c/o416/782-8900
416/782-9534
ID# 70216,414
416/727-8795
416/639-0329
416/224-0642
416/251-1511
416/492-0222
416/481-0678
416/225-8760
416/483-2013
416/447-4811
416/782-8900
416/782-8900

C/O416/782-8900

416/782-1861
416/782-1861
416/782-1861
416/782-1861

Meeting Co-ordinators

Brampton Chapter Garry Ledez c/o416/782-B900

Central Chapter Michael Bonnycastle 416/654-2381

C-64 Chapter
COMAL Chapter

Communications

Eastside Chapter

Louise Redgers
Donald Dalley
Victor Gough
David Bradley
Richard Bradley
Judith Willans
Darren Fuller

Hardware Chapter
Machine Language Garry Ledez
SuperPET Chapter Gerry Gold
VIC 20 Chapter Rick Adlard
Westside Chapter John Easton

Al Farquharson

Librarians

COMAL
Commodore 64

French
PET

SuperPET
VIC 20

Bulletin Board

Conference

Victor Gough
DaWd Bradley
Richard Bradley
Baudouin St-Cyr
Mike Donegan
Bill Dutfield
Daryl King

Richard Bradley

Doris Bradley

416/447-4811

416/742-3790

416/677-8840

c/o416/782.8900

c/o4 16/782-8900

c/o416/782-8900

c/o416/782-8900

c/o4I6/782-8900

c/o416/782-8900

416/225-8760

416/486-7835

416/251-1511

519/442-7000

416/677-8840
c/o416/782-8900
c/o416/782-8900
c/o4 16/782-8900
416/639-0329
416/224-0642
c/o416/782-8900

c/o41 6/782-8900

416/782-8900

56 TPUG Magazine

YOUR COMMODORE 64
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